Kamen Rider Lespid
by B Samurai
Summary: When Virgil Cross attends a funeral of a family friend, this adventure brings him into unexpected territory, placing him in the middle of a war between demonic creatures, and armored heroes.
1. Beginnings Part One

Eulogies had never been the thing for Virgil Cross, but on such a somber day, he couldn't help but listen. Today wasn't a funeral for a member of his family, but it might as well have been. His best friend's mother had died a few days prior, and Virgil found himself attending the funeral in Locksbury Virginia as soon as possible. Gunther, his best friend, they were like brothers, and so Gunther's family was like his own. It was a sad day indeed. Valerie, Gunther's sister, was delivering the eulogy, choking back tears to deliver encouraging words about their mother, even sharing an anecdote or two.

After the eulogy was over, the people attending the funeral scattered about to socialize and grab food to feed their aching hunger, but Virgil sat in his seat, clapping at Valerie's powerful words.

"I hate it when you see me like this," said the long, brown haired girl, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You always look beautiful to me Val, you know that." Virgil rose from his seat, walking towards the podium where Valerie stood. It had been too long. Their last visit involved a tearful goodbye that neither wanted to ever think about saying. A warm embraced quickly quelled those feelings.

"Look at you, you're so grown up. I'm even taller than you now." Too long indeed.

"That's because I've been eating my vegetables." Virgil grinned widely. He had missed this contact between the two, their conversations, the way they looked at each other. It was good just to be back.

"I'm really glad you came," whispered Valerie, planting a kiss on Virgil's cheek, "Gunther's been wanting to see you too."

Had Virgil not blushed and smiled greatly thanks to the kiss, he would've immediately asked about Gunther, for them, it had been just as long. Their only contact over the years was a few phone calls every now and then, although they didn't seem to carry much weight. Virgil believed that they had grown apart over the years, and it disturbed him greatly. They were like brothers, and while Virgil didn't have any true siblings of his own, Gunther was more or less the brother that he always wanted. For that to go away now, it would be devastating.

"Do you know where he is right now? I'd really like to see him."

"Yea, he's up in his room right now. He's been working on some sort of drawing project, but he's been up there for quite some time."

That didn't sound right. Gunther had never been eccentric about anything before, nothing could ever deter his calm demeanor. Even when things got rough, Gunther was always the one with the level head, able to give any advice that might help the situation. In many ways, Gunther was the thing that grounded Virgil when his head was too high up in the clouds. But now it seemed as if a role reversal was in order.

Valerie led Virgil through the crowd of mourners, with Virgil surprised at how many people the Wheeler family actually knew. It didn't seem as if the whole entire family was social in the first place, except for Val of course. That became evident once Virgil had seen all of the younger people at the funeral, all friends of Valerie no doubt, dropping by just to show off their respect and get some free food. The true essence of funerals.

As the duo reached Gunther's room, Valerie put a finger to her mouth, telling Virgil to 'shush.' Smirking at this gesture, Virgil shrugged his shoulders, while Valerie gave him an annoyed look. _Wow, _he thought, things must have changed drastically in the last few years. Valerie knocked on the door gently, hoping to not disturb his brother's diligent work. The door quickly flew open, startling both Valerie and more so Virgil, who adapted a fighting stance. In the open door way stood Gunther, his fowl look soon changing to more of a welcoming one once his eyes laid upon Virgil.

"So...sorry about that. I was in the middle of something. Come in man, come in."

Virgil looked over wearily at Valerie, while she gave the same expression. She moved her head toward the room, and Virgil, giving her a complacent look, followed her direction. Expecting Valerie to come in with him, he turned to face the door, as it was quickly shut in his face. _Thanks Val, _he thought, _thanks a lot. _

Taking a look around the room, Virgil began to see what Gunther's _projects _were. Taped all over his wall were drawings of creatures with the body of humans, but with the heads of animals, frozen in fierce expressions. Back when they were younger, Virgil had always been the story teller, and Gunther, the artist. They'd spend days together writing and drawing out stories, capturing each others imaginations in their own medium, but Virgil had never seen something like this before, not from Gunther.

"So Virgil, how have you been?"

Gunther's sentence rocked him from his reverie, and he soon snapped his attention towards Gunther himself. Had he actually payed attention from when his brother had opened the door, he would've been able to tell something was wrong. Gun's usual kept hair was now shaken and disheveled. His normal clean attire was now traded in for a ragged old hoodie with holes littering the fabric. Surely the death of his mother had caused some stress and uneasiness, but could it have caused all _this_?

"I uh, I've been good for the most part." He had to shake the pictures from his mind, the way Gunther looked had to leave his thoughts as quickly as they entered. "I've got a couple of jobs lined up that I have interviews for next week, so I'm looking forward to that. And above else, single as always."

"Haha, I know the feeling man." Gunther smiled his familiar smile, and it was hard to actually see all the things that were wrong with him. Virgil couldn't believe that his friend, no, his brother had reduced himself to drawing creatues of macabre fantasy and letting himself go. The question that he didn't want to ask, had to be poised.

"I don't mean to pry man, but how are you doing since your mom died?" Gunther began to blink, his facial expression turning to that of a thoughtful one. It was obvious that Virgil's question had stirred some sort of reaction, whether it was good or bad, Virgil was already regretting the decision to ask. "I'm sorry man, I-"

"No, it's fine. I need to talk to someone about _this_ anyway." Gunther pointed to one of the drawings, a male body with a fox head, snarling as if it was caught in a trap. Something about this drawing had struck a chord in Virgil, something he couldn't explain. "These things man, they killed my mother."

"What?" Virgil couldn't believe his ears. Had Gunther just uttered that sentence? Had he deduced his mother's death to those of creatures born from macabre fantasy? Had Gunther's imagination taken over just to rationalize his mother's death in order for him to deal with it?

"Look Virgil, I understand that it's really hard to believe, but it's true."

"No, no, no, no, no," Virgil began to repeat himself until his own voice became utterly redundant to his own ears. Gunther however wouldn't listen and proceeded to to Virgil of his theory on how they killed his mother, and what exactly these creatures were. "STOP!" Virgil yelled at the top of his lungs, putting a stop to both of their voices. Gunther opened his mouth to spout out more gibberish, but Virgil yelled yet again. "What the fuck is wrong with you Gunther!" Once again, Gunther tried to open his mouth. "No, don't say another word. I understand losing your mother was hard on you guys, but trying to rationalize her death with some fucked up drawings you did isn't healthy! We aren't kids anymore Gunther! When my grandmother died, I accepted it and moved on. Simple as that. I suggest you do the same." Virgil shook his head and turned around, intent on heading for the door. He wanted to wait a second, give his friend time to actually absorb what he said, albeit harsh, it was a well deserved slap in the face. He would apologize later, as long as the message got across.

"But Virg-"

"Fuck off Gunther. Don't tell your sister any of this bullshit, or she's gonna go insane along with you." Turning around, he opened the door and promptly slammed the door shut behind him. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

For Virgil, the rest of the day consisted of eating food with Valerie, listening to the endless stories about the Wheeler's mother, and how much the two friends had missed each other over the years. Although a reunion at a funeral had not seemed like the best of places to get reacquainted with someone, today seemed to be the perfect exception. The days events culminated in a few drinks at a bar, one of which Valerie apparently frequented to get away from the stress of the day,

"I never pegged you as one to actually drink, and enjoy it," laughed Virgil, taking a sip of his water.

"Well I never pegged you as one to go to a bar and order water."

"There ya have it, the mighty Virgil Cross does not succumb to alcoholic tendencies." Although after this morning's encounter with Gunther, Virgil had been craving something strong to make the whole exchange go away. Maybe he was too hard on Gunther earlier in the morning, using his frustrations at their mom's death on the first thing that he could project it at. Either way, he needed to apologize to Gunther as soon as he could. It was the only way to make things right.

"So almighty one," gurgled Valerie as she took a sip from her beer, "you still never told me why you left that day."

At the time, Virgil was drinking his water and as soon as the questioned dropped, he placed his bottle down and looked away from Valerie. That particular topic was something he didn't, no, _couldn't _talk to her about, and definitely not today.

"Looks like I struck a nerve." She took another sip from her beer and poked his arm. She wanted to know badly. "So, you gonna tell me or what?"

Virgil kept his expression tight, no smile, no emotion danced across his face. He shook his head and quickly chugged back his bottle of water. Some whiskey was sounding pretty damn great right about now.

"Please Virgil?"

"Wow you're persistent," Virgil snapped, crunching his bottle in the process. He tried not to come out sounding harsh, but some things couldn't be helped. He turned to Valerie, expecting to see her face flush with anger because of his snapping, but her face was content. "So you know, huh?"

"Gunther seems to find me more persistent." Under Valerie's forceful prodding, Gunther's secrecy never held upright. But Virgil supposed it was better than someone else telling her, especially Akumu. Had the two women ever came in contact about the situation, Valerie definitely wouldn't have been sitting next to him. "Is it all true Virgil?"

"Yea," he sighed, "it is." He was going to have to come clean sooner or later, although he much preferred the latter, the former seemed like the better option. "I didn't...didn't expect it all to go down like that. I let the stress get the best of me, and I handled it all the wrong ways. I feel so terrible for what I did to her, and I regret it every single day, I really do." That drink was needed now more than ever.

"It's ok Virgil. As long as this isn't who you are know, then it's ok." Count on Valerie to make Virgil feel better. Everything she said seemed to calm him down, even in his worst moments. Had she been there with him that day, things would've been drastically different, and this conversation wouldn't have taken place. She was a godsend.

"Thanks Val, it means a lot." A wayward tear cascaded down his face, and Valerie quickly replaced it with a kiss to his cheek. Tonight was gonna be a good night, even though Virgil would soon find the irony in that sentence.

"Come on, it's getting late," yawned Valerie, checking her watch. Virgil nodded and placed the money for the drinks and water on the counter. Leaving the bar, Virgil was content with the night's end, but he was still regretting his one sided shouting match with Gunther this morning. It wasn't fair to his friend, especially on such a delicate day. No matter how crazy Gunther's theory had been, Virgil was gonna sit there and listen to what his friend had to say, and then afterward, they were gonna do the same thing they did every time they hung out, play video games into the early morning, and sleep for most of the day. It seemed like the best way to deal with things, and the most fun. But for now, it was all about Valerie.

Instead of driving, the two decided to walk back too and from the bar, it was easier to communicate that way and less dangerous than not paying attention to the road. The full moon blared in the dark night sky, making the walk home one that would be remembered, save for the next full moon walk. But on the way home, Virgil had begun to feel _off_. He couldn't tell what the exact feeling was, but it was akin to when he viewed Gunther's drawing of the fox humanoid. The more that he thought about it, the fox's snarl seemed like it was directed towards him, and the more he began to get creeped out by the whole picture. But the more they walked, the more it seemed something was following them, something was watching, something was _waiting. _

Looking over at Valerie, it seemed his suspicions were his alone, as she seemed content with the walk, happily smiling along the way. Why had this drawing riled up such feelings of paranoia in his mind? It was one of the many questions running through his mind throughout the day, and as it seemed, more were going to be added without being answered. As he kept alone in his thoughts, Virgil seemed to miss the hooded man walking in front of them, up until he bumped in to Virgil, knocking him back.

"Excuse me!" The hooded figure yelled as he walked past Valerie and Virgil.

"Jerk," muttered Valerie as she helped Virgil regain him composure. This however, wasn't the wisest of things to say, as the hooded figure whipped his arm around to hit Valerie. Virgil however, caught his attack just in time.

"Lucky catch."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Virgil kicked forward, hitting the hooded figure in the gut, sending him staggering back. The blow look as if it didn't phase the hooded figure, as he quickly smiled and began to laugh menacingly.

"I'll do as I please, and I'll certainly not follow the commands of a Rider!" What followed next, was perhaps the most horrible sounding event that Virgil and Valerie had ever heard. The hooded figure began to shake in agony, his body glowing a faint white. His bones then began to pop and break, shifting around the man's body as his form started to become that of one of the creatures on Gunther's wall. Virgil couldn't believe it, Gunther was right all along, these things did exist.

"Definitely apologizing to Gunther later on." Virgil took a step forward, shielding this monster from Valerie. However as he did, one word began to circulate through his mind, something about this word, _Rider_ had Virgil running for loops. _What the hell does _Rider_ mean?_

His thoughts however didn't last long, as the final part of the man's transformation had come to a terrifying end. Where his head once was, a sickening 'pop' sound, complete with an explosion of blood, was replaced with the head of a rabbit, it's face feral. The two froze in fear. They had no correct way of explaining what they had just witnessed, and even then, how would they escape this mess. Here they were, staring a rabbit demon in the face with no where to go. The situation was virtually hopeless.

Thinking of the only thing that Virgil could do, he pulled Valerie close.

"Run. Run as far away from here as fast as you can. I'm gonna try and hold it off." She quickly grabbed onto Virgil, fear rocking her to the very core.

"I'm not gonna leave you!"

"Oh how the two love birds latch onto each other for safety!" Virgil snapped his head toward the rabbit demon, his eyes fierce with rage. Although foolish, he had to engage the demon in combat hoping to gain enough time for Valerie to get the hell out of there and contact Gunther, he seemed to know what these things were. As Virgil stepped forward, the Rabbit flew quickly infront of his eyes, it's foot connected solidly with Virgil's gut, sending him crashing to the ground, hard. As he tried to get back up, the Rabbit was already on top of him, his foot over Virgil's chest, preventing him from getting up.

"Ahahaha! Pinned like a mouse by a cat. How pathetic!" As hard as Virgil tried to struggle, there was nothing that would release the Rabbit's foot from his chest.

_This is it, _Virgil thought. He hadn't expected to bite the bullet this early on in his life, but he supposed it was karma, karma always had a way with payback. He looked into his attacker's eyes and saw the blood lust that the Rabbit demon held within those fiery globes, ironic how such a docile creature could have such rage.

Contrary to his own belief, Virgil wasn't destined to die that day. His gaze shifted from the Rabbit to a white hole in the sky, almost beckoning for him to look. From that hole flew out what looked like a white beetle, and it was careening toward the downed man. _Great, _Virgil thought, closing his eyes rather quickly, _not only am I being attacked by a rabbit demon, a white beetle is coming to attack me! _However, this was quite the opposite. The beetle flew down and attacked the rabbit demon, releasing Virgil from it's harsh grasp. Standing up, Virgil felt a tingling sensation across his waist. As he looked down, a metallic belt appeared, giving him a strange sense of comfort.

"What the-" What happened next was almost indescribable. The white beetle flew upon the belt, locking on to a predestined slot, and clicking in place.

_**HENSHIN!**_

The beetle announced it's function, quickly sending bolts of white electricity all over Virgil's body. He began to tense up, feeling anxious to the feelings of agony to come, but they didn't. A black techno-organic material began to form all over his body, the base structure for his armor. Soon pieces began to form over the body suit, shin pieces, knee cap pieces, boot pieces, all silver in color. Heavy pieces of white armor formed on his torso, forearms, biceps, and shoulders. Finally, the helmet formed onto his head, round in shape, with a gas mask as an added aesthetic. As the transformation completed, his red eyes flashed a deep crimson, while white energy waves emitted from his person, knocking the Rabbit demon back, followed quickly by pressurized bursts from his gas mask.

"Whoa." Virgil stood for a moment, taking everything in as quickly as humanly possible. One minute, he was walking with Valerie, enjoying a night time stroll, the next he was assaulted by a hooded man that turned into a rabbit demon, then the rabbit demon almost killed him, while a white beetle flew out of the sky, attaching to a belt that had somehow appeared on his waist, and then he became an armored hero. What a long day indeed.

"What a nice suit of armor!"

"At least my whole body matches!" During the transformation process, had the armor given Virgil a backbone as well? While one of these retorts was easily cataloged in his repertoire of smart ass remarks, it was easily said once backed up in a suit of armor, instead of his permeable regular form.

This insult didn't sit well for the Rabbit demon, for his face began to twist and contort in anger, a predictable result. The Rabbit quickly launched itself into attack mode, throwing himself, as well as a strongly backed up fist into Virgil's chest armor. The now armored Virgil readily winced for the pain, but the armor had protected him from the blow, the strike feeling like a light tickle. Feeling ready to hit back, Virgil swung his armored right arm back, and threw it directly into the jaw of the Rabbit demon, sending it crashing to the ground in a roll. Expecting the punch to hurt his fist, the strike was cushioned, just like the previous attack on his chest.

The Rabbit demon quickly scrambled to it's feet, moving it's head around to shake the pain from the punch. Roaring loudly, it charged at Virgil once again, this time it was faster than the last, immensely faster. Before he could react, Virgil felt another powerful punch slam into his chest, and was sent roaring back, crashing to the ground in a heap of pain. Before he could attempt to get up, he found the Rabbit demon overhead of him again. Deja vu. The rabbit extended an arm, grabbing Virgil by the throat, and lifting him up in the air effortlessly.

"Your armor is too heavy, it slows you down," snarled the rabbit directly into Virgil's visor. "When stacked against a fast opponent like me, you have a huge disadvantage, Rider." The Rabbit demon's grip tightened furiously, making it extremely difficult for Virgil to breathe. "I'm sorry to say, this will be your last hoo-"

"Virgil!"

_Valerie! _Ever since being pinned by the Rabbit demon, Virgil had forgot all about Valerie. He had hoped she followed his advice and ran, but that was too much to hope for. He began to usher her away, hopelessly mouthing out the words, 'Run away!' He couldn't care about himself at this point, Valerie was going to be in trouble if he didn't get out of this situation.

"Oh don't worry little princess, I'll have my way with you after I'm done squashing this bug!" Virgil's eyes flashed with rage, he couldn't let anything happen to Valerie! He began to kick and punch the creature, but the motions were exhausting his oxygen supply, and each hit lacked the power to release him. He was going to die today...

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Beginnings Part Two

_"Congratulations Mrs. Cross, it's a boy!" The doctor handed the winded woman her beautiful baby boy, crying for his mother. Cradling him softly, her husband walked over and kissed her on the forehead so tenderly. Together they stared at the boy's crying form, together they had created him, together they had just made their family complete._

_ "I know the perfect name for him," said the mother, holding him ever so gently._

_ "Oh," asked the father._

_ "We'll name him Virgil, Virgil Cross."_

* * *

_ "Ok son, put your left foot back like this, and then put your right foot forward like this. Now, make sure your stable," Virgil's father gave him a slight push, assuring that he wouldn't fall over. "See, you're nice and stable." His son laughed, and it warmed his heart. At four, the boy had begged and pleaded to learn the martial arts that made his father seem like a superhero. While Spiderman or Superman, he was not, he would be the hero his son always wanted._

_ "Ok dad, now what?"_

_ "Are you paying attention Virgil?" His son nodded diligently. "I want you to extend your right arm outward, and keep your left arm inward, like this." Pushing his arm forward, Virgil's father extended a powerful punch, exhausting a breath of air. "Now you try."_

_ Following his father's motions, Virgil extended his right fist. "Yah!"_

_ "See son, you're getting it!" _

* * *

_ "I couldn't help but see that you're reading Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei is the best."_

_ "Yea right, Kurama is way cooler than Hiei could ever be. And besides, Yoko Kurama is sooo dreamy."_

_ "I'm Virgil."_

_ "Akumu."_

* * *

_ Their exhausted and sweaty bodies collapsed next to each other. Holding hands, they turned to face one another, fiery passion burning in their eyes._

_ "I love you," uttered Virgil, planting a kiss on Akumu's bare shoulder._

_ "I love you too," she smiled." _

_ "I don't ever want to be apart from you. I want to get married, and have a family, and do all the things that couples do, but not here. Too much nothing to do." Akumu chuckled, kissing his lips softly._

_ "I want all of that too Virgil, you're my one and only. Always and forever."_

_ "Always and forever," he repeated. "Always and forever."_

* * *

_ "Virgil, you just need to ca-"_

_ "No Akumu! This is all bullshit! Complete and utter bullshit. I bust my ass just to work and I get treated like shit under the tutelage of a perfectionist! I can't take this!" Anger seeped from his voice like smoke from a corncob voice. Had he known the extent of his next actions, Virgil Cross would've grinned and bore his so called 'shit' job._

_ "Please just calm down."_

_ "No!" He swung his arm out, smacking her against the face. He looked down and found her crying in the corner, intent on staying as far away from Virgil as possible. What had he done? He crumpled to his knees, repeating the word 'No' over and over again as if it were a sacred mantra. His anger had got the best of him._

* * *

_ "Are you ever gonna come back Virgil?" Tears began to stream down Valerie's face, a sight that Virgil had never wanted to see, nor cause. He couldn't give her a straight answer for he didn't know himself. It was time to move on from here, for good. What he had done was just too hard to face here, and no matter who he had helping him, he was going to sink into the abyss instead of staying afloat and swimming._

_ "I don't know Val, I really don't."_

_ "Just promise to call every now and then, even if you don't want to talk to me, talk to Gunther. He's gonna miss you the most."_

_ "I know Val, I know." They both embraced, not knowing it would be the last hug for five years._

* * *

_ "I hate it when you see me like this," said the long, brown haired girl, wiping the tears from her eyes._

_ "You always look beautiful to me Val, you know that." Virgil rose from his seat, walking towards the podium where Valerie stood. It had been too long. Their last visit involved a tearful goodbye that neither wanted to ever think about saying. A warm embraced quickly quelled those feelings._

_ "Look at you, you're so grown up. I'm even taller than you now." Too long indeed._

_ "That's because I've been eating my vegetables." Virgil grinned widely. He had missed this contact between the two, their conversations, the way they looked at each other. It was good just to be back. _

_ "I'm really glad you came," whispered Valerie, planting a kiss on Virgil's cheek, "Gunther's been wanting to see you too."_

* * *

Apparently, everything about death was true. Your life's most important moments would flash in front of your eyes, and you would be dead soon after. A cruel retelling of what could've been done differently, yet couldn't be changed at all. Virgil was about to breathe his last breath, cursing the life choices he had made over the twenty one years of existence. It was a sad and somber way to go out, being choked to death by a giant rabbit. However, luck was to be on his side.

As he flailed around in a last ditch attempt to set himself free, his left arm had knocked the horn of the beetle forward, the result of which had sent white bolts of electricity to the top parts of his armor. As the bolts crossed each part of bulky armor, steam released itself from the cracks as the armor itself rose up.

"What the hell?" The Rabbit demon scoured in fear. His grip began to tighten more, reaffirming his strength against the Rider.

As his vision began to cloud, something began to take over Virgil's mind, and his body soon began to go limp. In one last act of desperation, his left hand quickly reached toward the beetles horn, pushing it completely to the right.

_**CAST OFF!**_

Like before, the beetle had announced the next change the armor would take, this time the raised up armor shot off of Virgil's suit, most of the pieces colliding with the Rabbit demon, effectively releasing Virgil from it's death grip. This 'CAST OFF' process had traded the more bulky armor, for that of a sleek form. To complete the transformation, a majestic horn rose and bisected the red eyes of the suit. Once in place, three smaller horns shot out from the left and right sides of the horn, accentuating the helmet. The eyes began to glow a crimson red, with the belt announcing one last thing to make the transformation complete.

_**CHANGE LESPID BEETLE!**_

Virgil grabbed at his throat, somehow awake from his previous encounter. He began to breathe harsh, shallow breaths in an effort to not damage his throat any further. Looking up, he saw the Rabbit demon behind his mask, the look of horror began to excite him. It was time to make the rabbit pay.

Lunging forward, the demon launched a lightning fast punch, confident that Virgil wouldn't be able to catch it. However as quick as the demon launched the assault, Virgil was already on his person, grabbing his arm and contorting it to his will.

"Who's got the advantage now?" He twisted the demon's arm into himself, causing the rabbit to howl in excruciating pain. As much as the rabbit tried to twist and contort his way out of Virgil's grip, there was no way he was letting go. "Ironic, huh?"

"Let me go!" Virgil smiled behind his mask.

"Sure." Gripping the demon's arm with all of his force, he twisted the creature around and with enough momentum and swung the rabbit on to a brick wall in front of them, causing an indent in the shape of the creature. "Satisfied?" Bursting into a full run, Virgil had the intention of kicking the rabbit through the brick wall, full force, but the Rabbit demon had other plans. Luckily, it had moved out of the way just in time, making Virgil to put his foot through the wall. The Rabbit howled in laughter, ready to take another strike at his disadvantaged opponent. But try as he might, Virgil couldn't shake his foot from it's brick confines.

The Rabbit reared his left foot back, moved his right, and got into a tackling stance, an action that would surely cause Virgil's leg to snap like a twig. Pulling back with all of his might, Virgil dislodged his foot, moving out of the way of the Rabbit's assault just in time. Regaining his composure, he pointed at the demon, fire burning in his eyes.

"This ends now!" Virgil boasted, moving his right arm down to the white beetle responsible for his armor. The demon exhaled sharply exuding no response, only it's tired breath. As it prepared for another tackle towards Virgil, Virgil's hand danced upon the beetle, pressed a button on the top.

_**ONE!**_

The demon's feet shuffled quickly across the pavement, closing the distance between him and his opponent. Virgil pressed the next button in sequence.

_**TWO!**_

The Rabbit demon's stride became interrupted as it tripped over a rock, it's clumsy nature attributed to it's previous beat down, and numerous tackle attempts. At using his speed against his opponent, the Rabbit had exhausted itself, a fatal mistake in the end. Virgil pressed the third, and final button.

_**THREE!  
**_Virgil slid the beetle's horn back onto the right side of it's body, then quickly replaced it back to the left.

_**RIDER KICK!**_

The belt announced itself in it's metallic glory, the final attack. A burst of white lighting found it's way up to the top of the helmet's horn, then crackled it's way down to Virgil's right foot. As the Rabbit finally reached his adversary, Virgil rose his foot up high into the air, and then brought it down without mercy upon the Rabbit's head. His foot crashed all the way to the ground, almost as if it had split the demon in half. The Rabbit quickly fell, exploding upon impact once hitting the ground beneath him. Virgil had won. The explosion of course did not damage Virgil, his suit had protected him from the fire and remnants of his opponent.

Once the fire had begun to die down, the beetle detached itself from the belt, leaving the belt itself behind. Virgil knew this was something he had to keep with him from now on, for the drawings that Gunther had shown him were real, and if his friend was right, this wasn't the only one. Turning back to face Valerie, he found her with a warm embrace.

"You're safe! And you saved me!"

"All in a day's work ma'am." He jested. He held her tight as they watched the fire's remaining moments. What a reunion.

**Author's Note: **

Sorry for the long delay guys. I've been doing a bunch of nothing, and this fan fiction was definitely on the something list. This chapter was going to be a bit longer, and have a whole different ending and even a different battle scene, but it didn't sit right with me. I'm much more proud of this one, and as soon as I get some concept art for the next Rider, yes, next Rider, I'll start working on Chapter 2, which has yet to be named. So for all of those who've been patiently waiting for this, thanks so much for sticking by! Hope you enjoy it and the ones to come!


	3. Firefly

As Virgil awoke the next morning, his thoughts wandered off to the night before. So many questions were running through his mind. Most of which he wanted to bring up to Gunther, but fearing another confrontation, and the fact that he more than likely insulted his friend's feelings, he decided to avoid it. He would come up with his own answers in due time. Or well, he hoped at least.

Moving from the couch where he slept for the night, he ventured into the painfully normal kitchen of the Wheeler household. Of course, dishes caked with food bits and glasses full of half drunken liquids littered about. Virgil had intended to clean up with Valerie and Gunther, but instead ended up at the bar with Valerie in tow. Obviously Gunther hadn't come down from his room to clean. Virgil hoped it wasn't because of their fight.

After the arduous task of cleaning up around the kitchen, Virgil had settled down into a stiff kitchen chair, taking note of the time from a plain clock on the wall. Nine thirty. He produced a slightly muffled yawn, attempting not to wake up his friends, hoping that his cleaning in the kitchen prior had not produced such a loud ruckus. Upon stretching, Virgil noticed how sore he really was, something he ignored upon awakening and rising from the couch. His arms and legs produced twinges of pain as he moved back into the living room. Rubbing his muscles, his mind was once again brought back to the night before. And yet again, questions unanswered begun to arise. He would need to talk to Gunther at once.  
"Hey." A soft voice approached from the kitchen, it was Valerie, rubbing her eyes gingerly of sleep. Her hair was slightly tussled, and the pajamas she wore were littered with wrinkles. No doubt a night of tossing and turning.

"Morning sunshine." Virgil reached in for a hug, but his aching muscles reacted otherwise.

"Still sore from..."

"Yea." Last night was still a sore subject for the both of them. After what happened, both Valerie and Virgil had awkwardly skipped the rabbit demon's subject of conversation, and went on to more awkward things to say. No doubt creating obvious tension between the two. With Virgil all more than willing to talk about the situation, he had no clue on how Valerie would react.

"You should take a bath to relax your muscles."

"Thanks, I think I will."

And then silence. The two stood, staring at each other, hoping for one another to say something, anything to get off of the subject of last night. Virgil opened his mouth in hopes to utter another conversation starter, when Gunther had abruptly walked downstairs, this time, with a much more 'Gunther-like' appearance. The shaggy locks he sported a day prior, had been downsized to a shorter hair style. His old blue, tattered hoodie had been traded in for a gray one, this time with no visible blemishes. His overall appearance had improved greatly since yesterday, and Virgil was glad to see it. But how would Gunther fair to an apology for yesterday?

"I'm going out. I'll be back later."

Both Valerie and Virgil said nothing as Gunther moved past the living room, into the foyer, and then to the front door. Virgil quickly followed, catching up to his friend as he was about to exit the house.

"About yest-"

"Leave it." Gunther ushered his hand up.

Their eyes locked briefly, but in that moment it felt like an eternity. Virgil's eyes had painted a picture of sadness, while Gunther's produced a look of arrogance, and unforgiven rage. It was clear that the two friends would not make up anytime soon.

"Right." Virgil looked down and heard the door slam in Gunther's stead. For everything that had happened last night, for all the things he yelled at Gunther for, he deserved this. For someone to trust everything his friend had ever told him, and then to deny him that right just once, Virgil deserved all the hate that Gunther could produce.

"Just give him time." Valerie placed her hand on Virgil's shoulder in an act of reassurance.

"Yea."

* * *

One minute, Gunther Wheeler had let himself go, and then the next, he was clean again. While everything he saw to be true, and become comfortable with, given some interminable time of course, was ripped from his walls, and placed capriciously in several trash cans around his room. Also laden in several trash bags were the torn, and tattered clothes he had kept over the last few weeks since his mother's death. He had truly let himself go, and Virgil's vivacious words were a grand reminder. So in lieu of the so called talk they had, Gunther decided to clean up his act.

Obtaining a new wardrobe and a nice, sensible haircut, Gunther went ahead and rebuilt his room to the way it had been before the bombardment of demon pictures. Bookshelves were now filled with books instead of paper and several drawing media. His desk was now just that, a desk, with nothing littered about on top. Not even the occasional scribble off the side of the page had existed. A healthy dose of Lysol had helped solved that problem. What suffered the most however, were his walls. The rectangle paper that had once occupied several locations had left an outline along the plaster, a faint reminder of what was there. Gunther would fix it eventually.

However as he could cast the drawings from his room, he could not cast them from his life, for these creatures were all too real. He had seen them up close, more importantly, he _fought _them. For, like Virgil, Gunther Wheeler was an armored hero. His first encounter with the creatures however, would stick with him for the rest of his life.

This day in infamy, the day his mother died had haunted him fiercely. Every where he went, everything he did, reminded him of his failure to save her on that day. It had driven him insane, so much so, he became a hermit in his own room, only coming out to search for the same creature that had slain his mother. While it was not his ideal existence, it had worked for the few weeks that followed, giving him a solid peace of mind.

But his reverie had been destroyed, by no other than his best friend. Initially taken aback, Gunther had been filled with rage. The combined events of his mother's death, his futile search for the demon responsible, and Virgil's out right honesty had not sat well with Gunther. His first instinct was to attack his friend, brutally beating his frustration into Virgil's thick headed skull. While it made him feel better, it would not be the better option. The better option of course, was to clean himself up, as well as his room, and then start anew, coming straight out to Virgil and Valerie about what had happened the day of the elder Wheeler's death. But would they listen this time?

The moment would occur the morning after the funeral. Over breakfast, he decided. But that moment did not come.

As he descended the stairs that morning, he caught sight of Virgil and was instantly stricken with terrible rage. His heart began to beat hard, almost ready to come out of his chest. The rage was not rage, but in fact fear. More so, the fear of rejection. He needed to be believed, for this had become his life. After a quick exchange, he had left the house quite promptly. Closing the door behind him, he stood bewildered at his failure. Taking a deep breath, Gunther quickly gathered his thoughts, uttering a noise in frustration. He would avoid the house for the rest of the day, as if it had been a hospital overtaken by the plague. An extreme analogy for such a minute problem.

Through many cups of coffee through the day, from a matinee, to a quick bite to eat, Gunther had calmed his nerves, and more importantly his anger. He finally felt as if he was ready to strap on his proverbial doctor's mask and brave his plague ridden house, however the day had different plans for him.

As much as he wished to carry on a normal life, Gunther knew such things were not possible now. Ever since the firefly had attached itself to him, had given him strength and power, when his own body could not, he knew he was fighting for a greater cause, something even greater than his mother's death. And like any good solider, he could be called to battle at any moment. This was one of those times.

Anytime a demon had shed their human persona and assumed their natural form, Gunther always _knew. _A sixth sense would always alert him, giving him quick flashes of information that he would need to put together in order to save someone. In retrospect, it was a maddening process, gaining the image of a random animal, a street name, a building location, or anything that would tell him where to go. It was almost instantaneous. And if one missed a key location, their charge would be lost forever, another guilty notch in the bedpost. But people like Gunther would never let that happen. At least, not again.

The images played quickly through his mind; a coyote, an elderly woman, and a 'Bannerman road.' His thoughts snapped back into focus, his rambling mouth spewed out the images as if they were a crazy, religious mantra. He would make it there in time, for this situation perfectly mirrored the last time he met the coyote demon, when it killed his mother.

It was as if the sixth sense had been guiding him. No matter how long he had lived in Locksbury, Gunther never tried to get to know the vicinity of the area, looking at a map once or twice to travel too and from out of state, but nothing to study the streets. However, his legs carried him from street to street, sometimes hopping fences, and jumping mediocre sized streams. This Bannerman road was out far in the boonies, and by the time Gunther had finished running, it surely felt like it.

"Hey!"

Startled, the Coyote demon quickly took it's gaze from it's elderly victim, and turned, finding a familiar face. The elderly woman beneath the demon had huddled in the fetal position, ready to give up on life. But as the man with the glasses approached the thing attacking her, she quickly stood and ran away. Gunther had saved another life.

"You again." The Coyote drug his hand across his anthropomorphic face, feeling the twisted and contorted skin, a battle scar from their last encounter.

"I'll finish the job this time." Uttered Gunther, watching the Coyote's latest action.

"I bet your mother would be proud."

Gunther said nothing as he placed a brace like object upon his right wrist. He threw his left hand high in to the sky, and like Virgil before him, a white portal opened up in the skies above to his beckoning call. This time however, a reddish orange firefly descended towards him, landing elegantly in his left hand. Gunther gazed upon the metallic bug and nodded, happy that his 'friend' had come to help. And with that notion, he placed the firefly into the brace, and then locked it into place.

"Henshin!"

_**HENSHIN!**_

Black, techno-organic matter erupted from the brace, and nuzzled itself over Gunther's figure. Armor retrofitted his shins, gave him boots, and placed protective caps over his knees, all silver in color. A reddish orange hue of heavier armor took shape upon his chest and back, arms, and shoulders, giving him a fortified look. Two gas tanks positioned themselves upon his back, with two tubes leading down to the undersides of his wrists. And finally, his bulky helmet gave shape, lending him the visage of a welder. The thin slit of the visor glowed a magnificent navy blue color, and reddish orange waves of energy emitted from the firefly on his wrist. The transformation was complete.

This armor had been his salvation, his pride. It gave him the feeling he could topple anything that stood in his way. The Coyote would be the first thing to fall.

He rose his wrists, and fired a blast of cover fire, literally. The raging flames licked out towards the Coyote, grabbing the air around it for sustenance. The Coyote flinched, instantly feeling a twinge of pain on the left side of it's face. Roaring in annoyance, the Coyote charged forth through the fire and flames, putting aside it's fear of fire to strike a blow at Gunther, but the Rider's distraction worked. Gunther had phased out of view, coming up behind the Coyote, and emitting another burst of the element into his adversaries back.

The Coyote clambered to the ground, anger seething from it's closed maw. The fire around him still burnt bright, and like before, Gunther was nowhere to be seen. The demon attempted to sniff out his prey, but all it could smell was the smoke. An excellent distraction, and one well thought out.

However, Gunther could not maintain his constant blanket of fire forever. At the rate he expelled fire, the gas inside the container was running out quite faster than he anticipated, and soon, not even a flicker of the burning element existed.

The demon's charred form stood, enraged with primal fury. The very flesh on his body began to twist and contort as if the fire still licked upon him. Gunther was quite pleased. This time, the demon wouldn't get away.

Gunther's left hand shifted towards the firefly, sliding up a lever slowly, which made the wings of the metallic bug slightly extend. An electrical charge, the same color of his body, sifted through the cracks of his bulkier armor, forcing the heavy plates upward.

"Cast off!" He muttered, pushing the lever on the firefly the rest of the way up, until it's wings were fully open.

* * *

For what had seemed like hours, Gunther had not returned. Throughout the day, Virgil had tried to stay occupied, but the constant reminder of hurting his friend's feelings had popped up from time to time. What made the waiting for Gunther even worse, was the awkward conversation between him and Valerie at every turn. He hated it. But he didn't know how to bring up the subject of last night. So in lieu of conversation, the two of them decided to pop a movie into the dvd player, and just watch until Gunther came back.

After about the fifth movie, Virgil placed the steel bowl of popcorn to his side, and shifted slightly, facing Valerie. He took a deep breath and began to say his peace.

"About last night, and before you try and stop me, this is something we should really talk about. I mean, are you ok and all?"

"Yea, I'm fine, just a bit taken a back." Valerie sighed. She took her hands, and placed them together. "I just can't believe that Gunther was right. Here this whole time, I thought he was crazy, and this was just a bizarre coping mechanism, but...but..." Valerie's calm words became shifted with sadness, tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Hey. Look at me." Virgil placed his hand under her chin, and calmly made her focus his eyes. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his free hand. "I'm gonna promise you something."

"Uh huh?" She whimpered.

"I'm gonna get the one that killed your mother. I just have to find it first."

"The day that mom died," Valerie choked back a few tears and a sniffle, "Gunther kept uttering the word 'coyote' over and over. It might've been that one."

"Then I'll find that one. And I'll make sure he-" At that moment, Virgil doubled over in pain, grabbing the sides of his head. He began to convulse, his breathing becoming erratic. Three images flashed into his mind, as if they were being branded deep into his memory.

"Virgil!" Valerie quickly grabbed a hold of him, trying to calm him down.

"Coyote...old woman...Bannerman road..."

"Virgil, what's wrong?"

Almost as quickly as the images had flashed through his mind, they had left. Shortly after, he stopped convulsing, his breathing once again normal. But as he regained his composure, he knew what had just happened. Another one of those creatures was attacking another innocent, and he needed to stop it.

"Virgil?"

"It's the one Val, it's the one that got your mom. I know where it's at, and I'm gonna stop it before it hurts someone else again." He quickly moved to the hardwood floor and searched under the couch for his backpack. Inside, he found the belt the beetle bestowed upon him yesterday. Putting it on his waist, he raced for the front door, but was stopped once Valerie called out his name.

"Be careful Virgil."

"I will." He smiled and exited the house. Next stop, Bannerman road.

* * *

_**CAST OFF!**_

The heavy armor, previously segmented, shot off of Gunther's body and traded itself for a more sleek form. The chest armor held a design similar to the back of a firefly, as well as the top part of the back of the armor itself. The shoulder pads hung freely, forearm armor quite sleek in design as well. The helmet was all one color, the reddish orange of the armor, with two antennae jutting from the top. The most prominent feature of the helmet, was the almost smile like design, which seemed to be cracked into the helmet. Finally, the eyes had glowed a deep navy blue, signifying the transformation's end.

_**CHANGE FIREFLY!**_

Gunther slowly began to advance towards the Coyote demon, who had fallen over since the transformation, a piece of Gunther's heavier armor must have struck him down. But in it's current state, it couldn't do much except be put down. The burns had spread all over it's body, making moving a very painful, and strenuous process. But it tried to get away as it saw it's death dealer approach.  
"I'll make you pay for what you did to my mother. What you did to our family." Gunther's left hand moved to the firefly, closing it's metallic wings.

"Rider Barrage." Upon opening them again, an electrical charge crackled around his wrist, which then sent itself promptly to the top of his antennae, then spread itself to both hands.

_**RIDER BARRAGE!**_

He felt the power coursing through his fists, the power to end it all. With just a few powerful strikes, his mother's death would be avenged, and he could go home a happy man. He would go home and tell Valerie and Virgil of his triumph, and how he'd never let any of his family die to these horrid demons.

"You sicken me." Gunther reared his fist high in the air, ready to start the final assault. The Coyote demon had begun to shield itself with it's arms, a feeble attempt no doubt. As he released his fist, his concentration was quickly ripped away from the Coyote.

"Yo!"

While his initial punch had landed, Gunther, from fear of being ganged up on, spun on his heel to find another armored hero staring him in the face. Shock crept through his mind. He thought he was the only one, the only armored hero, but standing before him was another, no doubt brandishing a different transformation device, and metallic bug.

"Who are yo-"

A large explosion ripped through the air, sending Gunther and the other armored hero crashing to the ground. Through the sound of fire burning, and degree crashing upon the ground, the Coyote howled in laughter. He had gotten away again. Gunther slammed his hand down upon the grassy road where he had just fought, creating a small crater. He had let the monster that killed his mother get away again! All thanks to be distracted by the hero in white!

The other hero quickly stood, rushing past Gunther.

"Fuck!" The hero in white threw up his hands in frustration. Was the hero in white after the same demon?

"You!" Gunther stood, furious. He moved his left hand quickly to the firefly, closing the wings yet again. The white armored hero turned to face Gunther, unaware of what was about to transpire. "Rider Barrage." He opened up the firefly again, energy surging from his wrist to his helmet's antennae, and then separately to each wrist.

_**RIDER BARRAGE!**_

"Dammit!" The white hero raised his arms defensively, and Gunther went in for the strike.


	4. Riders

Powerful punches collided against his seemingly perfect defense. With every blow, pieces of his forearm armor began to crack and fleck off, leaving him desperate for a move to change the tide of combat. Virgil raised his leg into a mighty kick, knocking the attacking armored warrior off his stride. Shaking his arms, the remaining forearm armor loosened and fell, leaving him without a top side defense. He would have to play it safe this time, especially against someone who held the same power as his own.

The reddish orange warrior regained his composure, quicker than Virgil had expected. Either his current adversary had prior martial arts knowledge, or just knew what he was doing. In all fairness, the armor of the firefly warrior would've absorbed most of the blow from the kick, so this wasn't such a stretch.

The warrior leaped towards Virgil, unleashing a furry of punches, all of which he had artfully dodged. However no counter attack could be landed, as the reddish orange warrior's strikes were precise, leaving no opportunity for such assault. Concerned now, more than ever, Virgil knew this opponent would also have to be defeated with swift and precise strikes.

But before the battle could wage on, the soft, dull hum of wings flapping snapped both of the warriors out of their combat fervor, and had them both gazing around for the source of the noise. A huge gust of wind then overcame them, knocking them both to the ground, slightly disorienting the two. Virgil, standing quickly, looked back at his former opponent, noticing a yellow substance covering most of his armor. Before he could open his mouth to speak upon his observation, a figure emerged from the treeline, not twenty feet from his current location. Thanks to the help of accentuated vision his helmet gave him, he saw it was another demon, this time with a Moth's head.

"Do you see what I see?" Uttered Virgil, looking back towards his previous opponent.

"Another one. Great." The reddish orange warrior stood up and placed himself next to Virgil. He ran a hand over his armor after looking at Virgil's own, collecting some of the yellow substance upon the surface of his glove. Rubbing it between his fingers, he looked at Virgil, brandishing a concerned look behind his mask. "It's a pollen of some sort."

"What?" Virgil drug his hand over his own armor, collecting some of the so called pollen. Rubbing the substance between his fingers as well, he came to the same conclusion. Was this a special ability of the demon?

Looking again in the distance, it seemed the pollen had been spread as far as the treeline, which the Moth had been kneeling next too. Rubbing it's hands together feverishly, it began creating a series of sparks, until suspiciously, the sparks had caught a bit of the pollen on fire, and then soon, it exploded.

* * *

On a lucky break, the Coyote demon had gotten away thanks to the brief, yet much appreciated intervention of the Rider in white. Thankfully not alone in his initial attack upon the elderly woman, his companion, the Moth Dobatsu had summoned a strong attack to quell his adversaries and shadow his friend's escape. It had worked perfectly. But the adventure home was not without much difficulty. He stumbled and fell on multiple occasions, even having to stop quite frequently to gather his breath. While being a Dobatsu held healing properties, in his condition, they would take days to activate. He would need to be nursed back to health. Luckily his daughter would kindly oblige.

Upon entering his quaint little home through secret routes over the city, he shifted back into his human persona. Once inside he struggled to the couch and promptly collapsed once reaching said furniture. With an exhausted yell, he called out his daughter's attention.

"Isabella!"

Almost immediately, the sound of a door opening from a higher level in the house occurred, followed by frantic footsteps down stairs, and there was his young daughter at her father's side.

"Father! Was it the Riders again? Did they hurt you?" Weakly, his human head nodded. "Hold on, I'll help you." She quickly rushed off into the downstairs bathroom, the sound of medicine bottles being thrown about resounded all too loudly as the Coyote Dobatsu, his human name known as Paul, struggled to become comfortable on the rickety old couch. With the accelerated healing factor on his side, his human visage was barely scarred, only showing slight burn marks, however on his Dobatsu side, his body had been quite scared by the firefly Rider's flames.

"Those flames!" He seethed through a clenched jaw, remembering their first encounter. Sometimes, Paul even wondered if destroying that young man's mother had been a bad decision from the get go, spawning the vengeful Rider that the young man had become. The Riders, the Dobatsu's adversaries. Armored warriors that fought to quell the infestation of his kind, to stop them from living on. Had the process gone the right way, he would've been a powerful Dobatsu with a firefly spirit instead of the firefly Rider. But the righteous soul in that young man had called forth something powerful, something on the good end of the spectrum. He hated those people. The ones that sifted through the animosity, the evil, the dark, decrepit thoughts of the human mind to attain what some might call a higher power, Riders. "I'll get you firefly!"

"It was him again?" Isabella had returned upon her father's last words, shocked to hear that her father's recent adversary had been none other than the Rider that had killed her mother, the firefly Rider.

"Yes, but he wasn't alone this time. It was-" a rigorous cough interrupted his sentence, prompting his daughter to bring a cup of water to his lips, which he drank slowly. "It was a new Rider. A white one. Some sort of... beetle. But thanks to his timely entrance, I got away, and with the help of Mr. Moth."

"Maybe the white one is on our side?"

"No." He promptly retorted. "While his arrival was a godsend, his alliance will always lie with the Riders."

"Well that's ok. My big strong father is going to crush him!"

"Of course I will, sweetie." Sitting up, Paul clutched at his sides, incidentally where most of the burns had occurred, and was quickly sent crashing back to the couch, producing a loud roar from his animal side.

"No daddy, rest, please? I don't wanna lose you and mommy."

"I won't let that happen honey." He said, smiling through the pain. "It's up to Mr. Moth for now. Once I'm recovered, I'll kill them both!"

"Yay!" His daughter began to jump up an down, elated at the news. Paul would preserve his daughter's happiness if it took all of his power to do so. He wouldn't be taken away from her, to leave her alone forever. The Riders were his ultimate goal, and as he passed out from the pain by his earlier battle, happy thoughts of death, and destruction sifted through his unconscious mind. The two he faced, and the many more that existed, they would die, all by his hand!

* * *

The explosion tore through the air like a sonic boom. The ground shattered and shook from the magnitude of the explosive powder, as it detonated by the Moth's hands. The two Riders flew back, hit with a wave of intense heat and amazing force. Had their suits not been equipped, they would've been disintegrated upon impact. The trailer park that fit their surroundings however, didn't fair quite as well. The housing units that sat further from the blast radius had sunken with the shattered ground, and became quite mangled as a result. The others in the brute force of the blast had been eradicated completely, leaving nothing but scorch marks in their wake. Luckily, no inhabitants occupied the trailers at the time, for the burden felt by the two Riders would've been devastating.

With immense pain, Virgil shot up from his position on the ground, feeling a tight pulling in his back. Grunting in pain, he looked to find the other warrior, but could not locate the distinct reddish orange armor that occupied his form. Standing up, he placed his hands upon his chest armor, finding it fractured with tiny cracks at the abdominal muscles, and a huge, gaping whole in his right pectoral. Inspecting the black body suit beneath, he was lucky to find that nothing had been damaged beyond that frontal piece.

Reaching for his belt to disengage the armor, he heard a familiar sound, the dull humming of beating wings. Looking up, he found the Moth hovered above him, powder steadily flowing from it's appendages. Jumping back, the Moth struck it's hands together, igniting the powder, and yet again, sending Virgil crashing to the ground. Landing, the Moth began to walk towards Virgil.

"I let the other one go, Coyote wants him all to himself. Get the newbie Rider he says. The newbie is a joke! A joke!"

Virgil struggled to get up. The pain in his back reared it's ugly head, but for a much longer period. The first explosion, while devastating, he wasn't _that _close too it. But with the Moth's last assault being a very _close _direct blow, he wasn't too fortunate with the pain it produced. While looking at his armor, the left pectoral had started to go, as well as pieces of the abdominal armor had in fact, fell off. The end result of this fight wasn't going to be a good one, and if Virgil had only one option left, it was to run.

"Goes down too easily! Truly a newbie, truly!" The Moth Dobatsu began to fidget, flicking the fingers on it's hands around quite rapidly, creating bright sparks. Virgil would use this unstable creature to his advantage, or so he hoped.

"I bet your boss doesn't appreciate you. Leaving you here to deal with the newbie Rider, especially when you could waste that other guy."

"Coyote trusts me to take care of the cannon fodder. I'm his friend, not his employee. Stupid newbie! Know your place!" The Moth began to fidget again, but in a much more violent way. Virgil's plan didn't work, but he wouldn't give up, as the right opportunity came at the right time. With the fidgeting of the Moth, came the clacking of the fingers, and with the clacking of the fingers, came the bright sparks, which had landed into the Moth's compound eyes, distracting it.

Summoning some of his remaining strength, Virgil tore through the pain and broke into a quick jump kick that knocked the Moth back, giving Virgil enough time to sprint to the forest that surrounded what was left of the trailer park. Taking quick refuge behind a tree, he looked back to see the Moth back on it's feet, jumping around in anger. Looking down at his battered armor, and then back at the destruction the Moth had caused, he ruled that staying in his armor would be his best bet. Looking back one more time at the Dobatsu chasing him, he began to hobble through the woods, hoping on loosing any, and all trails connecting to the insect that was chasing him.

* * *

Without looking back, Gunther had high tailed it out of the trailer park. With his victory over Coyote spurned, Gunther could hardly care less if the white hero had survived or not. All that mattered to him was living another day to take out the monster that had killed his mother, and protecting the rest of his family. If the white hero looked for a victory over a monster, he would have to conquer the Moth, for Coyote was his.

Battered and bruised, Gunther crashed through the front door of his shared house, and took refuge on the stairs. Because he did not take the time to walk back home, he had exhausted himself, rushing back to confirm the fear that in an act of desperation, Coyote hadn't traveled to his home, killing Virgil and worse, his sister.

"Gunther?" Valerie stepped out from the living room and walked towards the stair case, seeing her brother on the stairs. "Gunther!"

"I'm... ok." He managed to stammer out in between catching his breath. He rose slowly, almost collapsing to the wooden steps beneath him, but his sister helped support him, bringing him to the living room, and onto the couch.

"Did you fight him?"

Gunther nodded weakly. Did she finally believe him? Or was this just another ploy to understand his pain? Either way, he had to say his peace. He had to come clean. It was the right thing to do.

"Val, I need to tell you some-"

"I believe you." Shock crept across Gunther's face. All the other times he had described such ventures of fighting their mother's killer, and come back in better states, she was quick to dismiss his words. Was his battered and bruised form the final indicator of his truth? Or was another something else the source of facts?

"Wait, why? Even I couldn't believe this at first, and I've been fighting them."

"Because Gun, ever since we were kids, you've been nothing but sincere." Valerie latched onto her brother in a warm embrace, holding him tight. "Mom would've been so proud of you, never giving up for any reason. Going the distance, always."

"Thanks Valerie, thanks so much." Gunther hugged back just as tight. It was good knowing that she finally understand what he was doing, and accepting it. The next step was to apologize to Virgil. After leaving their embrace, Gunther stood, grabbing a second wind. "Where's Virgil? I want to apologize to him."

"Um, he went out a while ago, but I'm sure he'll be back soon." Something about her tone gave Gunther a bit of a chill. But never the less, he sat back down and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I almost had him Val. Then another armored guy like me, this guy in white, he came and interrupted the fight, and that bastard got away. I went to fight him off, but then we got ambushed by another monster. It created this giant explosion, and then I got away. I didn't look for the guy in white, I wanted him to pay for what he cost me." Looking to his sister, he was taken aback by her facial expression, eyes wide, and in shock. Had he said something wrong? "Val, what is it?"

"I have to tell you something too." Turning to her brother, Valerie began to explain everything that happened the night of their mother's funeral. Recounting the events, she expressed how fun it was to catch up with Virgil on their respective lives, at the bar. Then, she explained the utter terror she felt as she watched the man transform into the Rabbit demon, her being almost sick at the sounds the transformation echoed. When Virgil transformed, she was elated as he jumped into battle, but feared for him at the same time. And as the battle continued on, with the eventual destruction of the Rabbit, she was excited that he had saved the day, but utterly confused. The world she had grown up with had just gone to hell right before her eyes, and the only solace she had lied with Virgil. But now that she believed her brother thanks to her own account, she knew that she was in great hands.

"I can't believe it." Gunther stood from the couch again, and began to pace around the room. "I attacked my own best friend, the guy I consider a brother, and I left him for dead! "

"It's not too late to save him. That thing he did when he knew the demon was active, it took him to that trailer park, right? Well, there's been reports of more, condensed explosions reporting from that area. The police are afraid to move in to investigate. I _know _he's still alive Gunther, go save him."

"I will." Gunther sprang for the front door, only to return to the living room a second later. "Thanks Val, for everything." As he watched her smile and nod, Gunther yet again sprang for the front door. Leaving, he nodded to himself. "I'm gonna save you Virgil."

* * *

Another explosion had taken off his leg armor, and was eventually the last straw for the beetle upon the belt, as it quickly disengaged itself, as well as the armor, leaving only Virgil laying on the ground, writhing in pain. The Moth had not only found Virgil, but began to toy with him as all his escape attempts fell quickly in vain.

"Hehe. I was the perfect moth for the job. Dead newbie soon, dead newbie!"

"Fuck off!" Virgil screamed out in rage. The frustration from the situation had built such an angry response, that the Rider wanted to beat the monster without his suit. He didn't want to die like this, not to some lowly demon sent to do another one's bidding. But regardless, he would fight to the very end.

"You mad! You mad!"

Fists clenched tight, Virgil tried to rise, but the pain was too much. The Moth erupted in laughter at the failed attempt, and the Rider wanted nothing more to punch the bug in it's horrid looking face.

"Nothing can save you now Rider! Nothing!"

"I can." Both startled, Virgil and the Moth snapped their heads to find Gunther coming from behind a tree, a strange looking brace equipped on his right wrist.

"Gun man, run! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Virgil screamed, hoping that his friend would listen to him.

"No, because I'm going to save you." Walking over, Gunther helped Virgil to his feet and even brushed him off a little. Virgil stood confused, but the Moth quickly cleared the confusion.

"Coyote kills you firefly Rider, not me! Not me!"

"What?" Virgil turned to his friend and noticed the strong, stoic look that he brandished upon his face.

"Virgil, I'm truly sorry for attacking you earlier. Had I known, I wouldn't have been so hostile. So as a stipulation for that, let me fight this thing for you." The mechanical firefly flew down from the sky and into Gunther's left hand. As he was about to place the bug into the wrist device, Virgil rested one of his hands upon Gunther's shoulder.

"And I'm sorry that I let that monster that killed your mother get away. But I can't let you do this alone." With all of the damage he had been dealt previously, Virgil had hoped the white beetle would come to his call. Extending his arm up the sky, thankfully, the white beetle emerged from the atmosphere and landed into Virgil's right hand. Sharing a quick glance and nod, the two slammed their respective insects into their respective devices.

"Henshin!" They both screamed in unison.

_**HENSHIN!**_

Their black body suits shot over their bodies, covering their forms in the protective layer. The hexagons quickly went to work, layering the thicker armor over their body suits, as well as the sleeker leg armor upon their lower body. Finally, their helmets formed, and both upon completion of the transformation, their visors emitted a crimson red, and navy blue flash of light respectively.

The Moth, scared out of it's wits at fighting two Riders at once, flew back while beating it's wings, spreading it's explosive powder on the ground and the Riders that gave chase to it. Flicking it's hands together, a spark formed, which caught the powder, and caused it to explode.

_**CAST OFF!**_

_** CHANGE LESPID BEETLE!**_

_** CHANGE FIREFLY!**_

Through the explosion, pieces of the Rider's discarded armor forced the explosion back onto the Moth, knocking it down to the ground. Standing up feverishly, the two Riders, charged the Moth, with Gunther being the first one to attack, slamming a powerful right fist into the Moth's gray stomach, it stumbled back, and was quickly met by another flying kick of Virgil's. The demon however, stood it's ground, confident that if it could get off another explosion, it would turn the tide of the battle. Fate had other plans.

The two Riders sent powerful punches into it's chest, Virgil on the left, Gunther on the right. This attack knocked the Moth back, miraculously it still stood. But the Riders continued their charge, producing back kicks into the Moth's chest, which sent it crashing to the ground. Sensing it's defeat, it began to beat it's wings, but found that to be a useless tactic, upon crashing to the ground, the wings had torn. Furious it stood up and charged at the two Riders.

Snapping the wings shut on the firefly, and then opening them up again, Gunther stopped the charge of the Moth.

"Rider Barrage!"

_**RIDER BARRAGE!**_

The energy from the firefly traveled to his antennae, then back to his wrists, upon which, Gunther began to slam his powered up fists into the Moth, punching as fast and as hard as he could. The Moth began howling in pain, hoping that his demise would end come soon.

_**ONE! TWO! THREE!**_

"Rider Kick!"

_**RIDER KICK!**_

Upon hearing his friend's finisher announced, Gunther rolled backwards as his friend ran forward, lending him his back so Virgil could gain altitude. Jumping off of Gunther, Virgil pulled his leg high, and then crashed it down upon the Moth, giving it the look as if it had been split in half. Upon landing, the Moth's body exploded in a brilliant flash of triumph, and once the smoke had cleared, Virgil and Gunther stood untransformed.

"Good job." Virgil said, reaching out to his friend. But the strain from transforming again and then exhausting all of his energy to kill the demon had taken it's toll, and he promptly fell to the ground.

"Hey now!" Yelled Gunther as he rushed over to his friend, helping him up. "I promised I'd save you, you can't quit on me yet."

"Heh, I'll be fine man. Thanks for coming around. Off the record, I wouldn't have survived if you hadn't come just in time."

"Don't worry about it, I promised Valerie, so I couldn't let you go like that. And besides, I'm sorry for leaving you earlier. Like I said, I wouldn't have done that if I knew."

"Dick." Virgil uttered as he shook his head.

"I can still drop you, you know." Gunther laughed.

"Yea, yea." Virgil stammered out as they continued out of the forest. "We're gonna get him, that _I _promise."

Gunther nodded and shed a hearty smile, happy that his friend was alive, and his mom's death would be avenged, soon. He wouldn't let anyone else feel the same heart ache he had. He would make damn sure of it, and with Virgil on his side, the odds were even better.


	5. Revenge

Flames roared from their keeper as he advanced toward the rat demon that had picked the unfortunate day to exact out a hit. The demon howled and screamed in primal fury, the flames licking away his very existence. It failed to crawl and run away from the torment it faced, unable to fulfill it's namesake no longer.

"Gunther now!" Virgil's voice echoed out from the crackling of the fire, a brisk stride quickly gaining the distance between him and the burning Rat Dobatsu.

"Right!" Gunther let off on the trigger of his dual flamethrowers, the flame dying from his weapons quickly and concise. Arching his back steadily, the orange Rider placed his left foot behind his right and locked them, allowing Virgil to launch himself off his back!

"Rider Kick!" The white Rider announced, quickly moving the white beetle's horn from the right to the left.

_**RIDER KICK! **_

White, crackling energy leapt from Lespid's horn down to his raised right foot as he soared majestically through the air. In a brilliant flash of light, the white Rider sent his foot cascading into the Rat Dobatsus' body; an axe kick that split the demon in twain. As Virgil settled on the ground, the demon collapsed under the pressure of it's final breath and exploded, leaving nothing but dust and the two Riders standing proud.

The orange Rider walked forth and disengaged the firefly that gave him his power. After the armor and bug left, Gunther was left standing, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Man, it always gets so hot when I do that."

"Well duh, it's fire." Virgil disengaged his own bug and armor, taking time to throw his head back and loosen the hair that plastered to his forehead.

"Shut up." Gunther announced while taking a quick jab to his friend's rib. Virgil yelped in protest.

"Hey! I'm still not healed yet!" He was of course referencing the fight with the Moth Dobatsu that had quite left his armor, and his physical health, broken. His rib had begun to heal rather nicely over a quicker span than the doctor at Locksbury General had prescribed. The two Riders chocked it up to a mystical healing system their suits produced. "Besides, that was kind of a derp thing to say."

"Should've hit you harder." Gunther shook his head and took a quick glance at the pile of dust that the rat demon had left behind. It was a hard week.

"So that's what," Virgil held up his hand, lifting fingers to count, "the fifth one this week. He's really trying to kill us, eh?"

"Either that, or he's trying to wear us down." Gunther gulped hard at the thought. Five Dobatsu attacks in the past week, each on elder woman. It was Coyote's m.o. for sure, but it wasn't him exacting the attacks. To the boy's credit, they figured out that Coyote had been sending out separate attackers to fund their fighting, each time distracting them from the big man on campus as well. Gunther was tired of it all. Time and time again, he voiced his opinion on the cowardly monster that had claimed his mother's life, and then more openly declared how he'd be the one to put an end to him once and for all.

Virgil of course, could only oblige.

His friend had lived in torment since that day, and with another ally on the field, the fighting became more and more aggressive to the point where Gunther had made terrible decisions while striking against the Dobatsu they were plagued with. It was only today that Virgil convinced Gunther to lay back and let the white Rider handle the finishing blow.

"If he is, he's doing a damn good job. I don't know how much more of this I can take man."

"Virgil, we have to-"

"Relax," Virgil interjected, obviously annoyed, "we've got this. The more we think about him wearing us down, the more we will be. It's all about that psychology crap."

"But you just said.."

"I know what I said. I'm conflicting myself, it happens. The more important thing is that we get back on track. If I'm right, then Coyote isn't going to send anyone until tomorrow. So for today, with it still being early, you go off and do that thing with your sister, and I'll go out and check out Locksbury. Deal?" Virgil extended his hand, locking his friend's eyes with his own.

Gunther wavered for a bit, reconsidering the decision in his own mind. He knew that if he didn't shake his friend's hand, Virgil would leave on his own accord anyway. Then again, Gunther did have an important meeting with his sister that they had been planning for some time, the only thing delaying that was the constant Dobatsu attacks that Coyote had orchestrated. Virgil was right of course, they had fought one Dobatsu every day, for the past five days; by the demon's patterns, they were due for one tomorrow and no more for the rest of the day. Sighing, Gunther begrudgingly shook Virgil's hand.

"Good, it's settled. See ya later tonight mate!" Virgil began walking away, waving a friendly goodbye as he passed.

Gunther shook his head, wondering if he had just made a beneficial decision, or one that would end in disaster.

* * *

"Rat won't be coming back boys, I think it's time." Coyote sauntered into the living room holding a tray of three glasses of brandy. Sitting them down on the decorative coffee table in the middle of the room, he moved to the door way and crossed his bandaged arms. "They are no doubt worn out by the assaults I've presented. It's the perfect time to strike."

"I assume that's why you've called me here, eh Paul?" A burly man wearing a thin black tank top grabbed at one of the brandies on the table.

"It's why I've called _both _of you here today."

"Oh no, I was perfectly fine slinking in the shadows, hoping this bear of a man wouldn't have to see me. But now you go and blow me cover you git." In a corner of the room, the light began to shift and shimmer, the shape of a man replaced the shadows that had collected. Decked out in punk rocker gear, complete with numerous piercings from head to toe, and a green liberty spike mohawk, the Chameleon Dobatsu stepped away from the wall and joined in on the conversation.

"You called _him_?" The burly man leapt from the couch and threw his glass towards the Chameleon who deftly dodged the drinking object.

"He's gonna have me on me death bed!"

"Enough!" Paul snarled using his Dobatsu voice to keep the authority in his home under control. "So help me if either of you wake up my daughter, I'll kill you both myself!" The air in the room became thick with tension, Paul's authoritative voice still ringing in both of the men's ears.

"Sorry." They both uttered in unison.

"Now, the reason why I've called you here." Paul pulled a chair from across the room and placed it in front of both men who adopted comfortable positions on the sofa. "I've sent many low level Dobatsu to the two Riders in an attempt to wear them down. While Moth's death was quite...unfortunate...I've taken the initiative to call you both, the strongest Dobatsu I know, to finish off what I've started. I'm in little to no condition to fighting the two of them, but the strength in our numbers should take them down without much effort."

After a quick moment of silence mixed with internal thought, Chameleon shot up and shook his head, mixing hand gestures of an x.

"Nope, not going to do it. You don't fuck with Riders! There is a reason why all of your other assassins lost their lives fighting them!"

"The only reason is that they were weak, lowly Dobatsu I found to help _our _cause!" Paul stood from his chair, puffed out his chest and met face to face with his Chameleon friend.

"_Our _cause? It's _your _cause Paul!" Chameleon pushed a prying finger into the elder man's chest, pushing him off balance slightly. "Just because you got carried away and met opposition with a _Rider _doesn't make it _our _cause! Bear, do you hear this crap? He's gotta be taking a piss!"

"As much as I hate the English bastard, Chameleon is right. _You _fought with fire and got burned! Literally! You expect us to so easily walk into a pre-existing quarrel with your Riders to get ourselves killed? No thanks!"

"Need I remind you," Paul seethed, again with his Dobatsu voice, "it's either you fight the Riders, or fight me."

"Oh get off it you git!"

Paul pulled back in surprise. Did Chameleon just say that to him?

"I admire what you think you are Paul, but the truth is, I'm _quite _stronger than you. And Chameleon can do that disappearing thing he does. You wouldn't stand a chance against the both of us." Bear moved from his space on the couch and accompanied a standing position next to Chameleon. Their combined camaraderie had shocked Paul so much that his speech began to stammer as he thoughtlessly backed away from them.

"What's wrong mate, a wee bit scared?"

That had caught Paul's nerve. Sliding forward almost in the blink of an eye, Paul had shifted into Coyote and grabbed the punk rocker by his spike collar and pulled hard. The gagging noises that followed excited Paul, activating the bloodlust he had for the orange clad Rider and began to pull harder, until he was unexpectedly slung hard across the living room, into the dining room, and onto an oak dining table he had just purchased. Looking up, he saw Bear in his true form. The Dobatsu standing before him was seething, his muscles pulsating with anger.

"We're done here, Chameleon." Bear shifted back into his human form and helped the Chameleon Dobatsu off the floor who had fallen during Bear's assault on Paul.

"You...," Paul huffed and puffed, pulling splinters of wood off of him and from within as he struggled to stand. While his healing factor pushed most of Gunther's flame inflicted wounds from his body, the emotional scars blazed through his mind. "You two, you owe me."

Bear and Chameleon stared at each other, obviously distressed from what Paul had said. An event in their past had led their lives indebted by the Coyote that lay emotionally broken. They had no choice but to obey.

"Fine," Bear finally managed to say, "but this is the last time you call upon us."

* * *

Virgil's day on the town had virtually garnered him nothing as he could not find any store or attraction to keep him occupied. His day of relaxation became hard, as he more often than not found his thoughts shifting back to Gunther and his current state of mind. He was a concerned friend, through and through, but he had to think about himself or he would get nowhere today.

After milling around for a while, vanilla ice cream cone in hand, Virgil took refuge on a bench overlooking a theater and immediately thought back to his theater days. He enjoyed practicing the spoken word with other actors and actresses and found the idea of adopting pre-written personas quite exhilerating. It was a refreshing thought, something to break him from the monotony of the past five days.

"Interesting theater, don't you think?"

The voice snapped him from his reverie, and almost shocked him. Was he daydreaming that much? Which way did she come from? What did she think of a grown man eating an ice cream cone alone on a bench?

"Uhmm...Daaa..."

"It's ok," the voice said with a cute laugh, "I said the same thing too when I saw it."

Phew.

"So do you always eat ice cream alone on a bench?"

Dammit!

Virgil turned his head and was met with a most beautiful sight. The woman sitting next to him on this particular bench was gorgeous! Her beautiful, brown locks were kept up with a lime green hair band, which accentuated her chocolate brown eyes. He soft features made him smile like a little kid, which made her brandish a cute smile of her own.

"Oh, uh, no, no I don't. This is my first time in town, and I'm just checking out the sights. I haven't had an ice cream cone in a while, so I thought, 'Why not?' Right?" He laughed awkwardly and took a lick of his ice cream cone. "Oh damn, I'm being rude, do you want some..."

The woman offered a slightly awkward stare in response to the question.

"Duh, I hardly know you. Sorry, that was dumb. It's been a long day."

"Then what's the craziest thing you've done today?"

"Excuse me?" Virgil whipped his head around and stared into her eyes. Those eyes.

"You said it's been a long day...So what's the craziest part of it?"

Virgil began to blink and think about what was going on. A moment ago, he was deep into thought, thinking about all of the life threatening situations he had been in for the past week, and then here some random girl occupied his bench, questioned his ice cream habits, and then asked him probably the craziest question he had ever heard. Then again, he did ask her if she wanted some of his ice cream.

"The truth, or a lie?"

"Surprise me." She smiled.

"Well, I'm a martial artist that can transform into an armored hero and I fight demons that take the shape of animals and humans. I just fought one earlier today with my best friend, and we totally destroyed it. How's that?"

"So you're a martial artist, now _that's _cool."

Virgil smiled and finished off his cone. This girl was something else, and all he wanted to do was know more about her. If the rest of the day he was off, then he'd be with this girl.

"I didn't catch your name." Virgil extended his hand forward.

"Lily. And you?" She took his hand gracefully and shook it.

"Virgil." He smiled happily.

* * *

Gunther and Valerie walked up the cobblestone path to their mother's grave. The all so important meeting that the Wheeler's had planned was the first visiting of their mother's grave since her burial. Needless to say, the walk along the path was very quiet and somber, not so much as a sob escaped the already emotional Valerie, while Gunther's vengeful thoughts were silenced even in his own head; a first since their mother's death.

With flowers in hand, the grave site not twenty feet away, Valerie finally broke the silence.

"Mom would've loved this bouquet, it smells so pretty." Valerie lifted the bushel of flowers to her nose and took a hefty waft of the beautiful aroma the flowers released. It calmed her mind and kept her from crying as she spoke.

"Yea, I think so too." Gunther smiled at his sister

"I guess that's the reason why she kept so many flowers at home. They made her feel at peace, feel more calm."

"Hmm.. Yea." Another smile escaped Gunther's troubled mind. All these facets of their mother's personality began to creep up slowly like the killer in a horror film. He knew that eventually the proverbial knife would stab him, taking away his life, and reminding him that their mother was gone, once and for all.

Finally the Wheeler siblings approached their mother's final resting place. While both hesitant to act first, Valerie yet again shattered active silence by placing the beautiful arrangement of flowers upon the headstone; a small tear escaping her eye.

"Do you wanna...Go first?" Gunther managed to say, keeping his eyes locked on their mother's headstone.

"Yea, sure."

Valerie knelt down, careful to sweep the white floral sundress she wore under her knees as she finally found a spot on the ground to kneel. Dragging a careful, yet heavy hand across the stone, tears began to sting her otherwise dry eyes.

"Hey mom, how are you doing? We miss you, a lot. I uh, I brought you a beautiful smelling bouquet of flowers that I'm sure you'd adore. What am I saying, you're probably smelling them now and wondering if either Gunther and I have watered your precious potted flowers littered about the house."

"We did mom, don't worry. We've got them covered." Valerie turned her head and smiled at her brother's interjection.

"And Virgil's here now too. Well, he isn't _here _here, but he's staying with us. He made a special trip to come and see you. I know that would've meant so much to you. We'll bring him along next time mom, I promise. Mom, I'm so glad that you're in a better place. The only thing that matters to Gunther and I is that you're safe, and that you're loved, and that you're protected. We miss you mom, truly. But I'm gonna go so Gunther can talk now. I love you mom." Kissing her hand, Valerie placed her hand upon the headstone and left it there for a while as her tears streamed down her face. Finally she replaced herself with Gunther who adopted his sister's place upon the earth.

"Hey mom. What Valerie said was true. We do miss you, a lot. I don't want to play favorites or anything, but I might miss you the most." Valerie stifled a short laugh. "I don't know what I can say that's already been said, but I promise that I'll avenge you. I can promise that. Virgil, he's like me too. He's got a bug of his own, and he's got his own suit. We're gonna take down that bastard...I'm sorry, I know how much you hated it when either of us swore. We're gonna take down that _guy _to avenge you."

"Very unlikely."

The Wheeler siblings froze in fear. The voice had become a staple of Gunther's existence since the very first time it echoed upon his ears. Anger boiled his blood. He found it hard to turn around and face the voice that had killed his mother. Looking up and to his left, he found Valerie could hardly turn as well.

"What are you doing here?" Gunther growled through clenched teeth.

"To exact my revenge of course!"

"Your revenge?" The Rider spun around, letting his angry eyes lock onto the one sight he didn't want to see; Coyote standing proud and worse, healed. The monster stood however, with a bigger, burlier man by his side, the man's muscles bulging through the slender white tank top he wore.

"Of course! Your little flamethrowers quite injured me. I want retribution. The pain and suffering you've caused me will come to an end today!"

"Are you joking?" Gunther snarled, fishing into his jacket pocket for the brace his firefly sat upon.

"I never joke, I'm quite serious."

With quick flashes of bright, white light, the two men shifted into their Dobatsu forms. Coyote still suffered burn makes and twisted skin, a fact that made Gunther visibly smile. While the other man shifted into a bear motif, his new structure accentuating his already pre-existing muscles.

"Valerie, get out of here!" He turned his head, watching as Valerie stood paralyzed with fear. It seemed as if his sister hadn't moved an inch since the Coyote demon entered their conversation. Placing a calm hand on his sister's shoulder roused her from her fear, which she then quickly started running away. "Call Virgil!" He called out after her, still keeping an eye on the demons before him.

Extending his hand to the sky, the orange firefly descended from the heavens and landed securely in his grasp. He quickly snapped on his transformation brace, then placed the firefly in it's rightful spot.

"Henshin!"

_**HENSHIN!**_

The black techno-organic material scattered and sprawled the length of Gunther's frame, armoring him with the first layer of his bulkier armor. Next came the familiar heavier set pieces, forming and shutting the lower layer off to the elements. As the helmet came to form, the Rider watched as his enemies launched into a brutal offensive lead by the bulkier Dobatsu. While he dodged the first punch, Coyote's follow up attack scathed him across his visor, blurring his vision and making him completely available to the Bear's next attack.

Bear obliged to Coyote's opening by sending a strong kick into Gunther's torso, knocking the Rider off of his feet and flat onto the ground. With an over dramatic pull, Bear reached down and grabbed Gunther by the top of his breastplate, stringing him along in the air.

"How does it feel, Gunther?" Coyote bellowed as he circled his prone enemy.

"Fuck you!" Gunther struggled against his captor's grasp. Neither kick nor punch could shake this death grip the Bear Dobatsu held upon his armor. There did however, exist two options that the orange Rider could use to shake his captor; casting off and his flamethrowers. Casting off would prove costly, in exchange for the speed he would gain, his heavier, more protective armor would leave his frame, allowing the _much _stronger Bear Dobatsu to easily break through any defense. Using his flamethrowers now became the only option.

But even that was stifled.

As Gunther pulled his arms up for his fiery attack, Coyote whipped around, grabbed the orange Rider's arms, and pinned them behind his back. Verbal distaste exited Gunther's mouth, which was quickly silenced by another of Bear's powerful punches.

"How does it feel to know that you're out of options?"

"Virgil, where are you?"

"Is that the other Rider?" Bear asked, never keeping his eyes off of his caught trophy.

"It would seem so," Coyote replied, "but he isn't here. He should've been by now. We're lucky."

"Damn right you're lucky!" Gunther spat, struggling against both Coyote and Bear.

"It doesn't matter, we got what we came for. Right Chameleon?"

The air beside the bulkier Dobatsu shifted and simmered, revealing their punk rocker friend from before, this time however, his shift back into normal light was not taken alone. Slung over his shoulder was Valerie, knocked out cold.

"VALERIE!" Gunther struggled harder than before, but it was no good. No amount of rage could break him free of the iron clad grasp that held him. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

"I'll do damn well what I want! You're in no position of power!" Coyote let go of his hands and joined Chameleon. "Now don't fight until we leave. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your poor sister." The Coyote demon carried his hand softly across her face, angering Gunther to no end.

"You son of a-"

"We'll keep in touch." Placing a hand on his free shoulder, Coyote shifted out of sight with Chameleon, and worse, Valerie.

Demoralized and broken, Gunther stared off at the spot in which his sister had previously occupied, wishing and hoping that Coyote or his friends would not lay another hand on her. Unfortunately his reverie could not last, as Bear had thrown the Rider to the ground. Taking this opportunity, Gunther slid the small lever on the firefly, releasing his heavier armor.

"Cast off!"

_**CAST OFF!**_

The heavier pieces of his armor loosened and rocketed off of his body, causing a few stray pieces to hit the Bear Dobatsu head on. This only angered the demon, as he rushed toward Gunther with a heavy fist raised.

_**CHANGE FIREFLY!**_

Irrationally, Gunther decided the best action was the offensive and followed with the same charging attack his foe produced; the outcome however, was not the same. The Bear's powerful fist collided with Gunther's helmet, the weaker armor taking the hit with dire punctuation. The orange Rider heard ringing and then saw nothing as his consciousness blanked away, with only one thought struggling to remain.

_Virgil, where are you..._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

Hey guys! I'm so very sorry for the lack of Lespid and any lack of knowledge to where I've been. With 2011 coming to a close, it's safe to say that it's been a really awesome, yet stressful year for me. For one, I just got back from my first semester at college and shall be heading off for the second semester the day before my birthday. I also had to get a new laptop. My last harddrive crashed and I was left without all of my story ideas, as well as my unreleased graphic art projects; that was not cool.

I had intended to finish this chapter of Lespid much sooner than it's come out, I can assure you. I am sorry to my loyal fans, all three of you probably, that were eagerly awaiting more stuff from me.

As with the New Year, I'm planning on doing A LOT of new things with Lespid that wasn't in the original design. I can't tell you for spoiler reasons and such, but I'm hoping you guys will love reading it as much as I've enjoyed creating it.

I'm also going to re-edit transitions over the next coming weeks to make them smoother, i.e. line breaks. I've only just learned, don't laugh, how to do them, and will be implementing them in future chapters as well as going back to older chapters to fix the clutter I feel they present. It's a thing to help out potential new readers who might be turned off by that sort of thing, and just of personal preference.

For those that will read this and continue to do so, or even just the occasional looker, have a Happy New Year, and stay safe!


	6. Farewell

"Valerie!" Gunther awoke screaming for his sister. The events of the previous few hours ran through his mind during his comatose state. He had hoped these memories had been nothing more than cruel nightmares due to an overactive imagination; his hope was abandoned as he found himself lying in the very graveyard he had passed out in.

When his phone sent vibrations through his pocket, Gunther grabbed for the device eagerly in hopes of a message from either his sister or Virgil. Opening the clam shell style phone, the young man's face soured at the message contained within.

'**I have your sister. If you want to see her again, come alone to the place I kidnapped her from.'**

Gunther ground his teeth together, fearing the words unable to escape his mind that would accurately describe his current mood. His first thought was to chuck his phone into the nearest headstone, but rationale subsided the current thought into submission. Currently, his phone was the only link between him and his sister, destroy the device could condemn the future meet up. Instead, he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey Gun!" Virgil's cheery voice echoed through the phone's speaker. "Dude, going out to town was a great idea! I total-"

"Valerie's been kidnapped." Gunther's rhetoric shut down his friend's cheery attitude. As the phone speaker crackled only with static, Gunther hoped his friend felt remorse for not coming to his aid when the three demons attacked him. When Virgil still didn't respond after what seemed like an awkward eternity, Gunther broke the silence.

"Meet me back at the house, we need to talk."

"Yea, I'll be there."

Gunther promptly shut the phone and started on his way back home; a solemn walk taking over his need to hastily run. Virgil would've had to have a grand reason why he never came to aid in the battle that claimed Valerie as a hostage, and Gunther intended to find the reason why.

* * *

Valerie, head pounding and body aching, woke up to a room predominately colored pink. Various dolls and stuffed animals littered the floor, while in the middle of the room lay a small plastic table, a few accompanying plastic chairs, and various items indicating a child's tea party.

Standing up from the small bed that she found herself on, Valerie moved to the door and tried the knob. IT was locked. She then moved onto the windows covered in pink drapes. They too were also locked. Defeated, she sat back on the bed and huffed at her current situation; she was trapped and she didn't like it.

When the doorknob began to turn, Valerie formulated a plan; she would grab the heaviest thing she could find and bum rush whoever was the unfortunate soul that opened the door. She would then escape, find her brother, and Virgil, and then send them to the house to eradicate Paul and his friends. After that, she would go to a spa to relax and forget that this entire incident ever happened.

She sprang to her feet, picking up the heaviest thing she could find, a plastic chair, and kept it ready. When the door pushed open, a little brown haired girl with pigtails stepped into the room and looked at Valerie with big, blue eyes.

"Hi!" The little girl squeaked out.

"Uh...Hi." Valerie quickly put down the chair and resumed her spot on the small bed. Confused, she stared at the little girl.

"Hehe, you make funny faces!" The girl giggled and pulled up a chair in front of the shocked Valerie.

"Thank you. Can I ask you something, sweetie?"

"Uh huh!"

"Where are we?"

"This is my room! Isn't it pretty?"

"Of course sweetie! I love the color pink." Valerie _hated _the color pink. But disagreeing with a young girl over her décor would get her nowhere, especially in such a curious situation.

"Aww, thank you! My daddy said I'd like you!"

"Your dad?"

"That's enough Isabella."

Valerie looked up to the male voice and saw her mother's killer standing in the doorway. She grit her teeth and bit her tongue, unwilling to spit obscenities in front of a young, impressionable girl.

"Yes, daddy." The young girl sprung up and attached herself to his legs, hugging tightly.

"Why don't you go downstairs and watch tv dear, I need to spend time with our new friend." He patted her head and softly scooted her softly to the door.

"Okies daddy!" She detached herself from her father's legs and stood in the doorway, waving to Valerie. "It was nice meeting you!" Valerie smiled and the girl left the room; Paul promptly shut the door behind her.

"How can someone so evil have a daughter!" Valerie screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if his daughter could hear.

"I'd ask you to lower your voice, need I remind you of your current predicament."

"Fuck my predicament!" Valerie rose to her feet and reared her arm back for a powerful slap. When she brought her hand forward, Paul caught her hand in a bout of quick reflexes.

"A lady will not speak that way in my house!" Paul pushed Valerie back down on the bed and stood towering above her. When she proceeded to rise again, Paul shifted into his coyote form.

"Sit back down!"

Valerie immediately obliged. Shifting back into his human form, Paul took Isabella's old seat in front of the quivering Valerie.

"I assume you have many questions, and I will answer them diligently as you ask them. For now, I will assure you this Ms. Wheeler; I will take care of you, and I will never harm you as long as you are here, I will treat you like a queen."

"And why is that?" Valerie stammered out.

"Because you are to be my bride and Isabella's new mother."

* * *

When Virgil made it back to his temporary home, he had no clue what to expect. He knew he shouldn't have missed out on fighting the Dobatsu, but with Gunther's current state of mind, he found it best to stay out of the conflict. It was definitely the wrong idea. He also cursed himself multiple times throughout the walk home, had he known that Valerie would be in trouble...No, it was in the past.

As he walked into the living room, Virgil found Gunther on the sofa, his arms crossed with an angry look on his face.

"Gunther, what happened?"

"You didn't show up, that's what happened." Gunther rose to his feet and walked angrily over to his friend. Getting up in Virgil's face, he spat sour dialogue towards his best friend. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What kept you? Valerie's in danger because of you, you arrogant ass!"

"Arrogant ass? Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Virgil! Had you come along with us to my mom's grave, this wouldn't have happened! Hell, if you had even come when the Dobatsu shifted, we would still have my sister!" Gunther placed a bony finger into Virgil's chest and pushed him back. It was a bold move, especially on Gunther's part, but he felt it necessary. It was truly Virgil's fault.

"It's not my fault that you can't protect your own sister, or even your own mother!"

Venom in its most basic state can cripple a beast, even a man if used correctly. Like a snake, Virgil had struck out and bit Gunther in the most vital organ of all, his heart. Quite harsh in his statement, deep down the Rider knew that it was only because of anger, and he had hoped Gunther knew the same. When Gunther's fist collided with Virgil's face, that notion flew out the window quickly.

"How dare you say that!"

"About time you grew some balls!" Virgil wiped the blood collecting at the corner of his mouth and stood back up.

"Fuck you, Virgil!" Gunther sent another fist flying, this time straight into Virgil's gut. The Rider toppled over from the hit, but still came back up. Gunther grabbed his friend's shirt collar and pushed him into the wall next to the tv. "I'll never ask for your help again! You've let me down once and for all."

"Not even to save Valerie?" Virgil chuckled. He wanted to play the arrogance angle that Gunther had so casually mentioned before. It wasn't his style, but if the moment called for being an arrogant dick, especially if push came to shove, then he'd ride it out in style.

"I'm going alone! Because I'm the only one that I need!" Gunther hastily let go of Virgil's collar and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Virgil in response, slid down to the floor and stared off into thought. What had he just done? What had he just said? That was dumb! Playing on Gunther's words? What was he thinking? As the blood rushed back into his _thinking _mind, he grabbed at his phone and proceeded to call Gunther in hopes to catch his best friend and change his mind.

It was futile.

Ringing from across the room, nestled between the couch cushions was Gunther's phone. Virgil raced over and grabbed the device, flipping it open to cancel the call. Curiously, the white Rider looked through the phone and found the only message that Gunther had for the day:

**'I have your sister. If you want to see her again, come alone to the place I kidnapped her from.'**

Virgil shut the phone and pocketed the device. He took a seat on the couch and pondered his next action. He had to make up for what he had said to Gunther, and even more to Valerie. The more pressing matter however, was the looming threat that Paul posed to Gunther, and now Valerie. If Gunther didn't win his latest bout of combat with the Dobatsu, there must've been some sort of catalyst to lose the battle. No matter the circumstances, Virgil knew that his friend would not fight this battle alone. He wouldn't let him. He only hoped that his efforts would not be too late.

* * *

When Gunther arrived for the aforementioned reunion with his sister, he was angry, his blood was boiling, and he couldn't think straight. The fight with Virgil had taken a mental toll on him, all the while the looming threat of the upcoming final battle between him and Paul had kept his anger levels at a burning constant. If it weren't for the thought of rescuing Valerie from that wretched demon, Gunther would have surely drove himself mad. But he could do this, do this _alone _more importantly.

He began a short walk around the graveyard to calm himself down. He knew that if he wasn't thinking straight during the fight, it would not only cost him his life, but Valerie's as well. He would not let that happen. Through his stroll, Gunther spotted a young woman walking the path ahead of him. Yelling out, he hoped to gain her attention.

"Excuse me miss, why are you here?" A dumb question in essence, for a graveyard was a place to mourn. But with the current saga of his life about to come to an end, he didn't wish to pull innocents into his final battle.

"I'm meeting someone here. But you, you should leave." She hastened her pace without turning around, almost sprinting down the dirt path had it not been for her flip-flops clacking up dust behind her.

"No! You have to get out of here! It's not safe!" Gunther yelled back as he started a soft jog after her. He didn't want anyone else to get involved in his conflict, especially when that person was heading right for the meeting place.

Unfazed by his words, the young woman continued running until she was finally stopped by a burly man in a white tank top. His muscles bulged as he picked her up effortlessly and gave her an ironic hug.

"Lily, nice to see you!"

With a high pitched whimper, the young woman wiggled free from the burlier man and surprisingly ran behind Gunther. The young Rider threw his arms up, but felt weak as he recognized the much stronger opponent he had fought earlier.

"So you're here too, perfect. Come with me."

The Bear Dobatsu ushered the pair to follow him up the hill and once there, they found Paul standing with Valerie in a wedding dress, tears and make up streaming down her somber face.

"Valerie!" Gunther lurched forward but was stopped by a meaty hand.

"You know you don't want to do that." Bear smirked and moved out of Paul's line of sight to his left side.

"Thank you, Bear." Paul moved forward and spread out his arms. He looked as if he would continue speaking, but instead turned to Valerie. Smirking, he moved his head slightly and laughed. Gunther cringed.

"I want to thank you two for showing up. It shows great character, that even in the face of absolute danger you-"

"Where's Bella, Paul?" The young woman next to Gunther, Lily, spoke up and stepped forward. Tears began to stream down her face as she advanced towards the demon. Gunther attempted to stop her, but he fell short of a grab. "I haven't seen her in so long...Please Paul, let me see my daughter!"

Paul merely smirked and moved forward with blinding speed, evidently smacking her across the cheek. Lily fell down to the ground in a heap and began crying harder. Gunther abandoned his standing position and knelt beside the crying woman in an effort to calm her down.

"Paul! What are you doing, you idiot!" The burly man moved forward with a look of disgust on his face. Paul however, chose not to acknowledge the man questioning him. Instead, he hovered over Gunther and Lily.

"You will never see Isabella again, Lily. And Gunther, you shall never see your sister outside of this final moment. She will be my bride, and the mother of my child!"

"Like hell I will!" Valerie began struggling against an invisible force, one that wouldn't let her budge. When the light around her began to shift, it was obvious the Chameleon Dobatsu held her firm in his grasp.

"Quiet down now love, 'tis all be over soon. Then I can get back to me house and have a nice spot of tea."

"Let go of her!" Gunther yelled at the top of his lungs. He had had enough. It was time to start the final battle, to save his sister, and to save Lily's daughter from Paul's clutches. He stood up swiftly, but met Paul's foot in resistance.

"Don't hasten your death, you haven't met my daughter yet, who becomes your new niece, Gunther. Come out dear."

From behind Valerie came Paul's daughter Isabella, adorned in a beautiful dress made for special occasions. She walked shyly towards her father and attached herself to his leg. Looking down at her crying mother, Bella tugged on her father's pant leg.

"Is that...Is that mommy?"

"No dear," Paul said looking at Lily's crying frame, "your mommy is right behind you."

Lily, summoning all of her strength, pushed past Gunther, stood fast, and slapped Paul straight across the face. When it became clear the hit did not faze the Dobatsu, Lily stepped back haphazardly and almost tripped over Gunther. Touching his face, Paul smirked and erupted into wild laughter.

"I wished for you two to see this glorious wedding, but unfortunately, you shall not gain this privilege." With a deafening roar, Paul shifted into his coyote form and stared down the two he intended to murder. Sending his daughter behind him, Paul advanced towards Lily and grabbed her hand tightly; a grip nearing the strength to break her forearm. Gunther tried to stop Paul's attack, but was quickly manhandled by the burlier Dobatsu and held back.

"I've been waiting to do this for so long."

"AHHHHH!" A crack and a thud emitted from Valerie's direction, but not from the girl herself. Lying on the ground was Chameleon, his green liberty spiked mohawk in complete disarray. "This bloke just kicked me in the face! What kind of greeting is it to kick someone in the face!"

"Think of it more as a goodbye." Virgil placed his foot on the punk rocker's chest and held him in place as he pointed at Paul. "You're a sick fuck."

"So you came to die too?"

"Don't bet on it. I came here to save my friends, and help Gunther kick your ass."

"Really?" Paul moved his victim in front of him, both Lily and Virgil responding with shock on their faces. "What? You didn't think I never knew about you two meeting? I have eyes all over the city."

"They're on the ground now mate, a little help?" Virgil put more pressure on the man's chest, effectively silencing him.

"The odds are uneven. You don't stand a chance against the three of us." Paul uttered as he tightened the grip on Lily's forearm. Wincing, she looked to Virgil. The Rider, in retaliation sent his foot crashing into Chameleon's chest.

"I'll take him out, here and now!"

"And you actively think I care?"

Virgil hesitated and looked down at the man under his foot. Paul didn't seem like the type to bluff, even more so thanks to Lily being strung along in his hands. If he so willed it, he could snap her neck in a split-second and Virgil could do nothing. Begrudgingly, Virgil removed his foot so the punk rocker could move. Once he was gone, the Rider looked at Valerie and smirked, sending a hopeful wink her way.

"Gunther," Virgil said as his belt materialized around his waist, "you know what to do."

"You would dare be so cunning when the woman you care about lies prone in my hand?"

"Tell him Gunther...Tell him I dare."

Gunther obliged not, but felt his brace materialize upon his wrist. Still angered from before, the Rider could care less for his friend's musing. The objective was to free Valerie, not entertain the idea of Virgil being an arrogant ass again.

With seeing this, Paul smirked and twisted harder on Lily's forearm, a huge purple, blue bruise forming over her fair skin.

"I see there is trouble in paradise. Put the belt away or I'll snap her neck."

"No."

Virgil's response hit home with every party involved. Lily was shocked at the bravery he showed for her. She wanted to keep her life and shout at him, telling him not to be so foolish! Valerie wanted to say the same thing, as well as Bear and Chameleon. Gunther however wanted to berate Virgil for being the idiot that he was. Paul on the other hand, had the perfect opportunity.

"Fine." Paul quickly moved his hands on Lily's head, his arms ready to pull and snap her neck in twain. The next few seconds felt like an eternity for Lily as she felt his cold, steel like skin begin to pull and twist at her neck. She felt the ending come and closed her eyes in preparation, when suddenly, a buzzing noise snapped her back into the correct time flow. As she opened her eyes, she found a white beetle assaulting Paul, and Virgil rushing towards her. She opened her arms and he picked her up into a warm hug, she was safe.

"Get out of here, okay?"

"Not without my daughter!" Virgil nodded and looked off to the left as he watched Gunther become free thanks to his own mechanical bug. The white Rider wanted to run over to his friend and assist him, but when their eyes met, Gunther gave him a look of malice; Virgil was on his own.

Commanding the beetle to his hand, Virgil hovered the mechanical insect over his belt as he stood proudly in front of Lily.

"When I make an opening, grab your daughter." Sliding the beetle into place until he heard the reassuring click, Virgil activated the transformation. "Henshin!"

_** HENSHIN!**_

Emitting from the belt, the black, techno-organic body suit covered his frame, paving the way for his heavier armor, until he was fully covered in his bulkier masked form. Shrugging off the change, Virgil advanced forward to give Lily the opening to grab her daughter, when Gunther stepped in front of him.

"Coyote's mine. Henshin!" Gunther brought his firefly onto his wrist changer and locked it into place.

_**HENSHIN!**_

Just like Virgil, Gunther's body suit took shape, then came his heavier armor until he was finally settled into his Masked form. Standing confidently, the orange-reddish Rider moved his head back towards his ally.

"Gunther," Virgil began, "I-"

"Don't say a word, just fight!" With that, Gunther charged after Coyote, the Dobatsu opting to run away rather than fight.

Virgil turned to Lily and nodded, signaling the time to get her daughter was now. As Lily took off to get Isabella, something strong slammed into Virgil's frame, sending him sprawling to the ground. Looking up, he spotted the Bear Dobatsu seething, his muscles bulging with anger and rage.

Virgil stood and extended his hand in a 'come on' motion. The Dobatsu happily obliged and charged the white Rider, while Virgil did the same. Each extending a fist, they both struck each other as they met in the middle of their strides, sending one another back.

"Not bad." Virgil uttered underneath his heavy helmet.

"You have no idea." The Bear Dobatsu held up his forearms in front of his face. With great concentration, the steel colored skin began to shift and morph into a pair of powerful looking gauntlets that held knuckle dusters in place of his hands. Banging them together, the sound echoed and gave Virgil a powerful reverb through his helmet. When he recovered, the white Rider caught the end of one of the powerful dusters and immediately collapsed to the ground; a piece of his heavier helmet armor laying next to him.

* * *

Gunther released the valves of his flamethrower and ignited a circle around himself and his adversary, Coyote. As the fire cackled and gasped for air, the reddish-orange Rider slid the wings of his firefly up, starting the process to lose his heavier build.

"Cast off!"

_**CAST OFF!**_

The armor shot from his body at an alarming speed, some of the bits hitting Coyote, but not fazing the demon. As the last part of his armor was thrown away, his navy-blue eyes flashed while his firefly announced the tail end of the transformation.

_**CHANGE FIREFLY!**_

"This is it, Coyote. I will avenge my mother's death. A coward like you will die easily. I bet you can't even fight."

Coyote howled in laughter and instantly disappeared from view. Looking around frantically, Gunther jumped as he saw the demon cackling next to him.

"We Dobatsu have power beyond your wildest dream, Rider. I'll show you this." The Dobatsu disappeared and reappeared behind Gunther, swiping his claws at the Rider's back. The unexpected attack sent Gunther forward, which he was then picked up from the air by his neck. Slammed hard into the ground next, the reddish-orange Rider scrambled to his feet, but was met with a swift kick to his legs, destabilizing his already shaky limbs. "Do you see what I mean?"

Not one to give up, Gunther moved his injured legs quickly, catching the demon off guard. Knocking Coyote to the ground, the Rider climbed on top of his foe and pinned him down. Pulling the wings of his zector down, and then back up, Gunther reared both fists back and yelled.

"Rider Barrage!"

_**RIDER BARRAGE!**_

Energy moved from the zector to his helmet, and then to his hands as Gunther laid an impressive assault into Coyote. Ravenous punches hungry to make contact began to beat and batter the steel skin that encompassed the demon's hard exterior until Gunther finally ran out of energy to hit with. Breathing hard, the Rider almost wept once he heard the laughter emitting from his rival's snapping jaws...But how? Every hit connected perfectly on their mark, he _felt _them!

"I'm too fast for you Rider. I caught _each and every punch!_" Coyote moved blindingly fast once more, and had Gunther pinned on the ground. This time, Coyote reared his fists back and started his assault on the now prone Rider.

* * *

Another wild punch sent Virgil rolling against the ground and dirt. His body screamed at him to stop, but he had to defeat the enemy he was presented with. A true mistake was made earlier when Virgil discarded his heavier armor for a speedier approach. While the idea was good in theory, it left him even more open. He surmised that no matter what, he wouldn't be able to get near his opponent unless he hit him from behind, and even that was a terrible risk. He had to think of something, and fast.

As Bear neared him, the white Rider tried his best to dodge the powerful punches that had shattered his confidence, but it was to no avail. One more hit sent him to a comfortable spot against a tree and he thought about giving up, but something told him to keep going.

Using the tree as support, he stood up and tried to find an opening in Bear's attack pattern. If he could just jump on an arm, he could gain the leverage he needed to execute his Rider Kick against the demon. He remembered a particularly dangerous attack, one that had nearly caught and crippled Virgil's leg. If the Rider attacked the Bear's right, the demon would bring down his left arm, and from there, Virgil could hop up and commit the attack. It was worth a shot.

_**ONE! TWO! THREE!**_

"Rider Kick!"

_**RIDER KICK!**_

Virgil ran forward as the energy shot from his belt to his horn, then down to his right leg. Bear also followed the Rider's lead and ran forward as well, however the two stopped once a blinding slice of light collided into the ground between them. Wiggling from the white, hot spot stood a white katana like object, one that Virgil grabbed instantaneously.

_**LESPID!**_

The device announced profoundly as Virgil tightened his grip around the hilt. The device had uttered the same tone as his belt, not that he was questioning it from its first announcement. When he looked up and saw that his opponent shared a dumbfounded expression, Virgil lurched forward and pulled the sword from its resting place, guiding the white weapon up and across the Bear's chest.

Howling in agony, the bear found a white hot scar emblazoned across his chest. He rushed forward to retaliate with a right hook, however the white Rider parried the attack, ducked and swung, placing a horizontal slash across his chest. The Bear still pressed on as he rushed Virgil, but with another powerful up slash, the bear demon was on his last legs.

Charging up energy into his right fist, the Bear Dobatsu moved forward to end the battle with a final powerful uppercut. Shifting his body, and moving completely on his right side to maximize impact, the bear hoped for a lucky strike!

"Don't fail me now!" Virgil brought the end of the katana into his left hand, energy crackling from the base of the weapon flowed to his horn, and then back to the blade. Bringing the katana high over his head, the moment the bear extended his arm, Virgil slammed the katana down as the blade announced a powerful attack!

_**RIDER SLASH!**_

The Bear's blow caught the blade of the katana and sent Virgil flying through the air. He landed lightly however as he watched the Bear Dobatsu awaiting the confirming kill. The white Rider inspected his blade and found no scratches or breaks. Holding it in front of his opponent's eyes, he tapped the blade and shrugged; the weapon was unscathed.

Bewildered, the Bear Dobatsu examined his forearm and began to wince as a white line started to split his forearm in twain. As he watched the line thicken and grow, his vision doubled and with a quick yell, the bear demon exploded!

As Virgil huffed and puffed, he found the Chameleon Dobatsu sitting by a tree. When the white Rider raised his sword, the punk rocker squealed and ran away, spitting out nonsense during his retreat.

"Your turn, Gun..."

* * *

Gunther's body felt like it was turning into mush. His armor was sure to give way any second, and once it was gone, he would truly be privy to the death Coyote kept spouting as each and every punch connected with their mark. He hoped his death would be quick and painless, not like the event leading up to it.

He looked up into the sky and just stared for a while, hoping that somewhere up there, his mother lay preoccupied with something else. He couldn't stand to see if she was watching him getting defeated because of her, she would just collapse at the scene of her precious son being beat into submission. Tears escaped his eyes, they rolled down his cheek, and splashed across the back of his helmet, this was it, this was truly it.

Or so he thought.

An white hole opened in the sky, directly where the Rider was looking. As he studied the anomaly, he noticed that something began to eject itself from the hole, and by its apparent trajectory, it was going to land by his hand. Extending his arm, he held out his hand until the device fell softly into his palm.

_**LUCCIOLA!**_

"Huh?" Coyote stopped his assault and turned to the source of the noise, but was shocked when he met the barrel of a gun.

Gripping the handle hard, he pulled the trigger and fired off two rounds, both shots making their mark in the unfortunate Dobatsu's eyes. Howling in pain, Coyote tried to move away from Gunther, but a powerful arm lock over his neck kept the demon in place. Shoving the gun to his stomach, Gunther pulled the trigger over and over again as the Coyote howled in protest. When the demon finally managed to muster enough strength to get away from his attacker, the reddish-orange Rider helped him to his feet and kicked him away.

"I'll-I'll live for another day! Ahahahahaha!"

Gunther said nothing as he pulled on the top of the gun and pointed it in the direction of the fleeing Coyote.

_**RIDER SHOOTING!**_

A reddish-orange well of energy formed in the tip of the gun as the Rider kept it steady on his target. His finger heavy on the trigger, Gunther never took his eyes off of the man...No, the demon, that took his mother away from him. As the energy began to form bigger and bigger, Gunther let slip another tear.

"Goodbye, mom."

Pulling the trigger, the energy formed into a ball and leapt from the gun, seeking it's target until it finally collided with the steel hide of the Coyote Dobatsu. With one final howl, the demon exploded as the energy took its course, finally destroying the Dobatsu that started it all.

* * *

After his fight with the bear demon, Virgil found his way back to the original confrontation spot and saw that Lily, and her daughter, were nowhere in sight. A text message later affirmed that they were alright, and that she would see him tomorrow and thank him for everything that he had done.

But as he nestled himself on a neat patch of grass, Gunther and Valerie walked out of the woods and stopped at the sight of their friend. Valerie ran up, instantly hugging and thanking him, while Gunther stood his ground. Understanding what was going on, Valerie moved away to give the two of them some peace.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was-"

"Out of anger, I know. Don't apologize Virgil, just don't."

"I..uh, ok."

"I realize that we've been friends forever, and that you've had my back since the beginning, but I can't forget this one instance. Valerie was in danger, someone we both really care about, and you were off gallivanting with that girl."

"How did you-"

"Her and Valerie talked, don't worry about it. The point is, while we've been a team in nearly everything else, we can never be a team like this, like Riders."

Virgil nodded his head and stood up. He screwed up big time, and he knew it. What hurt the most was that Gunther didn't want an apology, or to reconcile, he sounded like he wanted to move on.

"I made a choice Virgil, and I can't stay here anymore, not with you. And neither can Valerie. We talked it over, and we're leaving Locksbury for a while, maybe for good. We don't know. But we can't have you over at the house. Go ahead and collect your stuff and then leave."

Virgil looked at his friend and nodded. It was effectively the end of their friendship, and it was his fault. While Gunther had always been one to think irrationally, this was going to an extreme. But he had no other choice but to follow Gunther's command; it was his house, his rules. Not saying another word, Virgil took off down the dirt path and never looked back.

Once he was sure Virgil was gone, Gunther summoned the firefly to his hand. Looking at the mechanical device that had helped him exact his revenge, the Rider released the bug to the wind. The firefly almost nodded as it took off into the white hole in the sky, knowing it would never see its former master again. Looking down at his wrist, the brace dematerialized and he played with the cold, clammy skin. It was good to be normal again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I want to thank all the current readers that were eagerly awaiting another chapter. I sincerely apologize for not getting this out faster like I promised, but shit happens. What can you do?

This chapter marks a milestone, not only in this being the longest running series I've ever done...ever, this also marks the departure of two key characters that never really left in the first place. Through time, I always envisioned Valerie and Gunther sticking to it from beginning to end, but as time went by, I found that they hampered my creativity to the point where it was making me slow down whenever I wrote them. Therefore, they are now gone. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll see them again sometime in the near future.

With that said, I believe I can really kick off Lespid now, and from here on out, I'll try and make it one of the best series', besides Great Revival of course, that you ever read. Thanks!


	7. Three Months Later

"Ha!" Virgil threw a slew of punches into the black vinyl, rocking the bag on it's protective chain. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" A right hook, then a left, then a right! He took a step forward and thrusted into his next punch, the bag flew back from the shock and came right back at him. He jumped into the air and spun, kicking the bag back again. As the bag rebounded back to him, he steadied his body, thrusted forward and kicked the bag right in the center, pushing it off the chain completely. As the training object hit the ground, the black vinyl split apart and spilled sand across the hardwood floor.

He seethed with adrenaline, his body heaving and rising with strength and heat; it was a glorious feeling. The training he had been doing for the last few weeks had toned his body to an amazing level; one that he never dreamed of having a few months ago. Under current circumstances, he'd still be a bit lankier than usual, but now, now his muscles began to bulge beneath his shirt and he was liking it.

"Damn, looking good Virgil." He admired his new physique in the mirror, flexing his muscles to and fro just to flaunt his new found body; conceited incarnate. But as he shifted deeper into the dimly lit gym, Virgil was hit with the mind crushing headache that announced a Dobatsu attack, and it wasn't far away. He considered going but fought against the urge. Conflicting feelings fluttered about in his mind as he found the image of Isabella, Lily's daughter, lying dead in her arms. While many Dobatsu had risen and been subsequently vanquished between now and then, Virgil always found his mind's eye replaying that specific reel.

It was haunting, to say the least.

Virgil however took comfort in the fact that because of Isabella's death, Lily ascended into a Rider. 'The butterfly with a bow' he liked to call her, as her patron insect resembled a species from the Papillion line. However, like Gunther, Lily stressed the need to kill every Dobatsu that fell into her warpath. While he shared the same sentiment, he didn't hunt them down like her, track them, wait for their every moment to be telegraphed telepathically. In fact, ever since Isabella's death, Lespid existed no more because Virgil failed to save her.

"Enough." He told himself aloud, hoping that the branching echo convinced him to let go of the guilt he still possessed. Only he could be so diligent in relenting to his guilt, at least he tried. He threw himself so far into training and bettering himself that he forgot Lespid even existed for weeks on end. He forgot the trials and turmoil that came with being a Rider, and soon only viewed himself as a normal person fighting the demon that...

"Enough!" He shook his head and sighed. Forgiving one's self was a long road; he had known the trials before and only found solace in the fact that forgiveness could be reached... But only in due time.

* * *

"Shit!" The Crab Dobatsu's claw dug into the side of her armor and flung her deeper into the street, her body crumpling as it hit the ground. Lily quickly reclaimed her bow and brought herself to her knee, drawing the light purple weapon's string back. As a purple arrow formed in the space between, the Crab demon nearly doubled its speed, sending another attack that knocked the weapon yet again from her grasp. As Lily tried yet again to reclaim her bow, the Crab Dobatsu wrapped it's claw around her throat and hoisted her high into the air.

She began to kick and punch at the armored claw containing her, but it was no use. Her exhausted state was nowhere strong enough to keep battling a monster that could shrug off her attacks. The once elegant light purple armor, brandishing the beauty of a butterfly in flight, it's curves magnificently accentuated by the light that always seemed to find it, was hanging by a thread, frothing with spent sparks and dark smoke.

"They told me about you," the Crab demon muttered, foamy filth leaking from it's oddly shaped mouth. "They saw me fit to hunt you down and take you out. They want that little insect on your wrist for my trouble. They want to make sure I get the job done. You've seen what I can do, butterfly, were they right?"

_'No, you piece of shit, I won't __let you!' _She screamed in her mind, the only part of her that could keep going when her body failed her. She wouldn't talk, she wouldn't let the demon about to end her life have the satisfaction of hearing her scream or give up. No, her death would be silent... _'I'm coming Isabella...'_

"Let her go."

The voice was stern and loud, a deafening roar in the silent street that stood as the butterfly Rider's battleground. Lily had lost all hope for she _knew _that voice. That voice had once brought her comfort, safety, joy, but now it only brought thoughts of death and despair, the loss of hope. Virgil Cross had crawled out of his hole and decided to become a hero again. The Crab Dobatsu was none the wiser, another Rider had entered the battlefield.

"They said some humans exhibit courage beyond their years, foolish courage. Would you prove them right, little man?" The Dobatsu swung Lily around in an attempt to break her silence, to let her know that she was about to witness the death of an innocent, one that she could not save from the claw around her neck. He liked it when humans suffered, but Riders provided the best enjoyment.

"Foolish courage sounds about right. It's been a while since I've done this. Not even sure it still works, but I'm ready to try again. What about you, do you think you're ready to chance this?" Virgil aimed the question to Lily, hoping she was still alive in there. His grand entrance was a little late, sure, but seeing her in this state was beginning to drive him mad. He had to do something, and that hope for a distraction was something that had to pay off. While the Crab answered his question diligently, he could feel Lily behind her visor, her eyes cutting away from him. "I understand."

Virgil held out his arm to the sky, unsure if anything was going to happen at all. He was mostly sure that once this endeavor didn't pay off, the Crab would either snap Lily's neck, or cut her head completely off, maybe even in that order. But he had one thing that Lily had given up on as soon as he entered the fray, hope.

And hope answered his call.

He closed his eyes as he heard that familiar buzzing, the sound that reassured him to his core; Lespid had come. As he grabbed the white beetle, he felt his waist get tighter as the silver belt materialized for the first time in a long while. Before he slid the beetle into place, he opened his eyes and cut the demon a powerful glare.

"Henshin!"

_**HENSHIN!**_

Sliding into the belt with a resounding click, black, techno organic material shot across Virgil's frame, nuzzling his body with the soft, yet protective undercoating. As it stretched across his frame, the white Rider tightened up his muscles, feeling invigorated with power. Silver and white armor began to form upon his legs, chest, forearms, and finally his head. The small visor upon his faceplate flashed a violent red once the transformation was complete.

"They said there'd only be one! They never lie!" The Crab demon tossed Lily to the side effortlessly as it charged at Virgil's heavily armored form, eager to play with the seemingly impossible lie. As the white Rider began to lay waste to the Crab demon, a feat that seemed too easy to be true, Lily watched the fight with bewilderment. Virgil had finally come out of his fighting coma only to save her... How romantic. There was a time she considered him to be her white knight, but this was no longer a facet of their relationship. Their rapport now was nothing more than old friends who needed nothing to do with each other. And she surely favored it that way.

Virgil pulled his fists together and swung heavily, knocking the Crab off balance. He followed up with a knee to the monster's gut, pushing it down to the ground. As it tried to get back up, he sent a forward kick into it's chest, further confining it to the earth below. The monster took it's mighty claw and swung wide, actually catching Virgil in a shower of spark which sent him sprawling to the ground. As the monster rose back to a standing position, the white Rider took a knee; his fingers found the horn of the beetle and pulled it outwards, bright white bolts of electricity began arcing through his armor, slightly raising the heavier bits off of him.

"Cast off!" He announced, replacing the horn to the right side of the beetle. In a flurry of metal and electricity, the heavier parts of his armor flew off in all directions, some parts striking the Crab demon.

_**CAST OFF!**_

The whiter parts of his armor caught the furious sunlight and glowed magnificently. He stood tall as the horn of his helmet connected between his compound eyes, the six horns above them shot out glistened in the light. When his eyes yet again flashed a violent red, his transformation had been complete. Standing here, for the first time in months, Lespid was born again.

_**CHANGE LESPID BEETLE!**_

"Clock up!"

Virgil reached down and slapped a pad on the side of his belt.

_**CLOCK UP!**_

Another feature of his system that seemingly came to him one day, 'clock up' provided the Riders with the ability to rend time to their liking. Everything stood still outside of their suits, wind would stop breathing mid breath, rain would freeze seemingly in the air, and the hustle and bustle of city streets came to an eerie stop as the Riders gained free reign through the time they froze. While one could give this as an advantage to the Riders over their Dobatsu enemy, some demons could manipulate time to their liking as well, adding an even more dangerous edge to their enemies. Thankfully, the Crab demon could not.

Virgil launched forward as time stood still around him. He whirled his leg around and struck the demon in the face, lifting it off the ground and causing it to hover in the air. He extended his right arm outward, palm open, and watched as a white portal opened up in the sky, sending forth his katana into the palm of his hand. He twisted and twirled the blade with lightning speed, causing several visible lacerations on the demon's body, and watched as time allowed sparks to slowly form against the steel skinned monster.

Virgil brought the end of the katana hard into his left hand, causing white energy to surge from the hilt, up his arm to the tip of his main horn, then back down to engulf the blade in white hot power.

"Rider Slash!"

_**RIDER SLASH!**_

The white Rider positioned the blade for a powerful upswing, but first slapped the pad on his belt again.

_**CLOCK OVER!**_

As time restored to its rightful spot, violent sparks erupted from the demon's steel body as it began to plummet to the ground. But, before steel could meet pavement, Virgil brought the sword up and cleaved the demon in twain; explosions destroyed what little remained.

"Bravo _beetle boy, _I'm definitely surprised to see you roused from such a stigmatic condition. Too bad I didn't need your help." Lily, equipped with her bow, walked past Virgil with a slight limp in her step, an injury no doubt caused from the battle with the Crab. He turned and watched as she began to walk away, noting her posture was off, and the grip on her bow was vapid. She was exhausted and tried hard not to show him; she didn't want to seem weak.

"Sure didn't look like it."

His statement had awoken a sleeping giant.

Lily spun deftly on her heels and brought her bow up to fire. She pulled the string back far and released a purple arrow aimed directly at Virgil's helmet. The white Rider anticipated the attack and quickly deflected the projectile with his sword. She pulled the string back yet again to fire, but stopped once Virgil had his sword pointed at her midsection. In the span of a second, Virgil had closed the gap between the two with his arm flexed and ready to drive the blade into her gut.

What had he been doing these past few months?

Lily certainly remembered his last condition, in fact, it was burned into her mind. She remembered how fast he was, how strong he was, how many hits he could take, and certainly how well he fought. She was privy to the fact he had entered clock up because she had heard his system announce it, and even though it lasted a no more than a millisecond in her mind, she knew when it would end. She saw the precise cuts that plagued the demon's body, she remembered the amount of sparks that erupted from it's frightened frame. Virgil had gotten _better._

"Your next arrow will miss, my blade won't." Virgil uttered with confidence.

She felt the sincerity behind his voice, it was as sharp as the blade that prodded her gut; just like her, that day changed Virgil forever. She dropped the bow and placed it onto her back, backing away from the sword as Virgil withdrew the blade. She attempted to say something, something to rouse his emotions to only make her feel better, but her tongue could not find the words to speak. She was too exhausted to be dealing with Virgil, let alone a Dobatsu in the first place.

But she somehow found the words.

"What changed, Virgil? Why are you Lespid again?"

"Hope and determination..." Virgil unlocked the white beetle from it's resting position and began walking as the armor left with his metallic ally. As he reached Lily, he moved his head to the side and looked away from her, pain welling in his eyes. "Don't die, Lily."

A twinge of heartache rocked her unsteady frame, but she held still. She said nothing as Virgil continued his stride after his words of encouragement. Her pride kept her from looking back, from saying something in return. While she was sour with him, angry to the point of almost wanting to destroy him, Lily knew that Virgil only wanted what was best, she needed to get some rest.

* * *

"Squad A, surround the target and wait for my order to follow!" The crackling over the loudspeaker was loud and clear. The ten men and women in black suits of combat gear filtered throughout the dark, dingy room and surrounded the poor man bound in chains to the ceiling and floor. With assault rifles trained on the man's bare chest, the soldiers stood still, fingers heavy on the trigger for the order to fire.

"Excellent," the voice came over the speaker again, his tone exuberant with jubilee. The lights from the room containing the voice equipment was dark, leading to the brooding atmosphere that would help his commandos execute their specific order, to kill. He clicked the button once more, placed his mouth against the speaker and spoke calmly. "Fire."

The dungeon like room erupted into bright muzzles flashes, an inaudible atmosphere thanks to the rattling of bullets firing from the gun, as well as the soft clanking of shell casings crashing across the floor. Their target howled and cackled in laughter as the bullets seemed to only tickle his exposed flesh. Raising his bruised face, the soldiers stopped firing and moved their guns into a relaxed state.

"You'll never pierce our flesh with your human weaponry!" The man began to shift in his chains, pulling at the links with immense strength. Given more time, the links themselves would begin to bend and crack, causing this man to be free.

"Sir, the bullets seemed to have no effect. What do we do now?"

A sour frown crept across the man in the dark room's face. Angrily, he unsheathed a handgun from it's holster and exited the room. Following a dimly lit corridor, he opened a door and entered into the dungeon. Kicking aside spent shells and moving past his soldiers, the white haired man raised his handgun to the captured man's head.

"We test the other ones."

Pulling the trigger, the bullet sped quickly through the chamber, into the man's forehead, and out the back of the skull, stopping densely in the wall behind him. The once lively prisoner slumped against his chains, the life sucked completely out of him. As blood dripped from the wound, the soldiers watched in awe as the man shed his human image for a steel body with the shape of an animal head they could not quite make out.

Ejecting the clip from his handgun, the white haired man, Greene, handed it to a soldier and patted his shoulder.

"Make many more. We might have just won this war."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ho ho! A little short, but I feel that this is all this chapter deserved. A time skip, I felt, was what was best for Lespid because I felt like I was losing interest in the series. But fear not faithful readers, I have my passion back for it, and I think you'll like what these changes have spawned!

Also, if you're truly digging the series, why not give me a review? I think that'd be nice! :)


	8. The Ants Go Marching In

The call had come in around midnight. Hermaan lay asleep in bed, dreaming of a getaway with his beautiful girlfriend when the phone rang and tore him from his dream. On the other end of the phone, his cousin Lily cried for what seemed like hours while he tried to calm her down. Once her tears had stopped, she calmly described her situation of paranoia and trepidation that her life was in immediate danger, and something had to be done. Thanks to the love he shared for his cousin, they were always close, he agreed he would come up to Locksbury at once and investigate what was going on. Before she hung up, she gave him one clue, 'Virgil Cross.'

After alerting the proper channels for work, and making sure his girlfriend didn't worry, Hermaan drove the four hours from Norfolk, Virginia to Locksbury, awake only thanks to the numerous cups of coffee that kept him going. After arriving at around four in the morning, Hermaan refused to sleep and quickly leapt to his laptop, beginning his search for his lead. After countless hours, he was left with only snippets of information regarding 'Virgil Cross;' it was as if someone had deleted the information from the system. On a whim, he also cross checked all of Lily's info as well and found similar results, the information had seemed to disappear.

However, Hermaan didn't give up, and, thanks to several attempts at hacking several F.B.I., military, and C.I.A. databases, the detective came across three top secret files: one about Virgil Cross, one about his cousin Lily, and the third about an unknown person, Gunther Wheeler. Clicking into each of these files, Hermaan found information detailing beings known as 'Riders' and 'Dobatsu,' and even some videos showing fights between the oddly shaped monsters versus their armored counterparts. In each of the separate files, the detective found respective forms for Virgil, Lily, and Gunther, their special weapons and techniques, and videos of their transformations.

With this lot of information processing through his head, Hermaan barely recognized that the moon had been relieved by the early morning sun. He wiped his eyes clean of tiredness and frustration and quickly printed out a small sheet of paper with more information on it. Grabbing his coat, a cup of coffee, and his car keys, he set out to find Lily's clue, Virgil Cross.

* * *

Roland's Gym, the gym Virgil frequented, was always quiet around six thirty in the morning. Aside from the elderly owner sweeping up and wiping down the equipment, the harsh sound of weights striking each other emanated from wherever Virgil's workout took him that day. When Roland himself left, it was only the white Rider in the room, training his body to his specifications.

But as Virgil laid into the punching bag with a fury of punches and kicks, loud footsteps echoed over the sounds of the leather being struck. He turned for just a second and noticed as an auburn haired man sauntered over to him. Virgil picked up his towel and dried the sweat forming over the exposed skin of his body, finally wrapping the towel around his neck.

"Can I help you?" Virgil asked, looking the man up and down. His attire was casual, certainly not here for the gym.

"Virgil Cross?"

Virgil nodded in response.

"I'm detective Hermaan Barzhad with the Norfolk Police Department. I'd like to ask you a few questions." The auburn haired detective fished out his badge and flashed it in front of the white Rider. As far as Virgil could tell, it was legit.

"Sorry, but I haven't been to Norfolk in years. I couldn't help you with anything." Virgil shrugged his shoulders playfully, adding a dull interest to his tone.

"Today, Locksbury is in my jurisdiction Mr. Cross. I'm looking for a certain someone." Hermaan moved over to the punching bag and gave it a little push, watching it move back and forth.

"I haven't been here that long either, Detective Barzhad. I'm really no help to anyone. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a workout to finish." The white Rider pushed past the detective and set his hands on the bag, stopping it's motion. As he pulled his fist back for a roaring punch, Hermaan stepped in his way; Virgil lowered his fist.

"How about you let me finish, Mr. Cross?" Obviously annoyed, the auburn haired detective pulled a photograph from his leather jacket and shoved it into Virgil's hands. It was a picture of Lily. "Does this woman seem familiar to you?"

"_Barzhad, _right, I get it now. You're Lily's cousin Hermaan."

"You catch on quick…" Hermaan snatched the photo and stuffed it back in his jacket. The smirk on his face lent him an arrogance that he had met before, a tell that always came about when he was close to getting his man. "She called me last night at midnight, crying hysterically. It took some time to calm her down. When I finally had, she mentioned something or someone was after her and was scared. The only clue she gave me was you, Virgil. She mentioned you and promptly got off the phone. I immediately rushed over to come and help her out. Can you tell me what's going on?"

Virgil sighed heavily and took a seat on a nearby bench, beckoning Hermaan to join him. As the detective walked over, Virgil ran his fingers through his hair to relax and find the words he needed to say. Since Hermaan was a detective, not to mention someone close to Lily, he would have to word this carefully.

"I honestly don't know, Detective Barzhad. Lily and I had a falling out about three months ago when her daughter died. I tried to maintain what relationship we had before then, but I was consumed with guilt over Isabella's death. Lily decided that it was ultimately my fault, and therefore didn't talk to me, even going as far as avoiding any and all contact with me when I actually tried to communicate with her. We met the other day, in the street. I let her know that I didn't want her to be consumed with what she was going through, that I wanted her to pull through it and be ok… And then I left."

Virgil recounted the memory in his head, and choked up instantly. Grieving was a hard process that required time to defeat, a few days were like reopening the wound.

"I see," Hermaan said, pacing back and forth, "but you're the only lead that I have right now. Whatever happened between you and Lily could've caused her paranoia around you. Have you ever put Lily in danger?"

'_Multiple times…' _Virgil thought, but the obvious, truthful answer wouldn't likely convince Hermaan to his plight.

"No, I never had. Whatever you're thinking detective, you're wrong. I-"

"You what?" Hermaan raised an eyebrow and folded his arms together.

"I… I loved Lily." Virgil put his face in his hands and sighed. It pained him to admit his feelings out loud, and even in his own mind. When Lily left, she was all he could think about, and it destroyed him. He loafed around the house until he had felt sorry enough for himself to go to the gym to get back into shape, better himself, and return to fighting the good fight for the vengeance of Isabella. But in hindsight it didn't matter at all. All he wanted was to at least get closure from Lily, to tell her his true feelings and at least hear the truth from her. But of course, it would always be too much to ask.

"Right. Whatever happened between you too, I need you to put it aside and help me find her. You're the only one that she mentioned while in Locksbury, besides Isabella. Do you think you can take me to her house?"

"Yea," Virgil said standing up, "let's go."

* * *

The ride over was quiet and uneventful. Hermaan, who knew nothing of the precarious situation that extended between Lily and Virgil, decided not to pry as it would more than likely interfere with his investigation. Virgil; however, didn't know what to say. The auburn detective clearly showed trepidation in talking to him, and the white Rider thought it best, for nothing could be helped either way. Virgil was; however, intrigued in why his name was spoken in such a manner for Lily to inspire an investigation against him. There was no secret that she hated him since Isabella's death three months ago, but did that hate extend this far? Virgil had hoped not.

"It's here," Virgil uttered, unbuckling himself from the seat before Hermaan could stop.

As the car came to a complete stop, the two men exited the vehicle and proceeded past the white picket fence that seemed all too cheery to be a member of Lily's real estate. Her two and a half floor, white house she occupied looked like it hadn't been lived in for a month or so. The grass was poorly managed, windows looked musty, and the mailbox held several letters referring to unpaid bills.

"Are you sure this is it?" Hermaan asked quizzically.

"Lily doesn't handle guilt well." Virgil responded.

Hermaan scoffed in agreement and took a step forward, but immediately met resistance in Virgil's hand on his chest. As the auburn detective turned to ask what was up, Virgil pointed towards the screen door, revealing the heavier door behind it was wide open. With eyes wide open, Hermaan's instinct to investigate quietly was overridden with his cousin's wellbeing.

"Lily!" He screamed, wondering if his cousin was trapped inside with whatever she was afraid of.

"Hermaan, no!" Virgil attempted to quiet the detective, but was pushed away as he ran straight for the door. Virgil immediately followed the detective into the empty house and quickly caught up to him. He stopped inside as he found the house in shambles.

"What happened here?" Hermann muttered as he bent down and picked up a crumpled photo of Lily and her daughter.

"I don't know. " Virgil responded as he surveyed the house with a closer eye. Furniture was either over turned and broken down to mere firewood. Glass littered the floor as it was hard to move around the once untouched hardwood without hearing a small crack underneath their feet. The banister on the staircase had suffered the most damage, as well as the steps the piece of wood guarded. There was no doubt in his mind that there had been a fight, but had this new altercation been the demise of Lily? "No."

"Is this some kind of sick joke, Virgil?"

"What are you talking-!" In a flash Virgil was thrown up against one of the walls by Hermaan's ferocity. Grabbed by the shirt collar, he struggled to get free but found the grip of the detective's to be iron.

"Don't fucking play around with me! You expect me to believe that you've had nothing to do with Lily disappearing just because you _love _her? Let me tell you something, asshole! _Every _lover of a disappeared person said the same god damn thing! I'm going to enjoy putting your ass in a prison cell to rot!"

"Whatever Lily told you was a lie, Hermaan! And if you don't let go of me, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what… Turn into that white bug guy? Oh! Big man on campus here, everyone!"

"How do you… How do you know about me?" Virgil let his hands drop to his sides in disbelief. Often there were times he transformed in public view with no disregard, yet he heard no news reports or had anyone knocking down his door for any kind of answers. The people he usually saved just thanked him and ran off, never to be seen again. But Hermaan hadn't been in Locksbury before now. Could Lily have told him?

The detective slackened his grip and pulled out a small folded piece of paper waving it high above his head.

"I spent a little bit of time researching you Virgil, but any and all databases had been wiped clean. It was if you never existed. But then I dug _deeper. _I found three files, one about you, one about some Wheeler kid, and the other about Lily. I don't know how you pulled her into all of this, and I don't know where she is, but I won't let you rest until I've found her and know she's safe. You're under arrest, Virgil Cross."

Ignoring the info dump given to him under this precarious situation, Virgil had to do something to get Hermaan to back off. The detective seemed irrational under pressure, and especially when it came to his cousin, but perhaps he could get through to him, try to appeal to the same affection for Lily that Hermaan seemed to have.

"Hermaan, god dammit! Listen to me, you've got the wrong guy! I want to find Lily too, but you've got to stop all of this!"

It seemed the white Rider had gotten through to the detective. Hermaan let go of Virgil and pulled back, placing the piece of paper back into his jacket. As the white Rider brushed his shirt down, he heard a swift click and looked up to see Hermaan had a gun trained on his forehead.

"Put your hands up. Now."

"Don't do this." Virgil placed his hands at his sides.

"Hands up." Hermaan swallowed hard.

"Hermaan, don't." Virgil took a confident step forward.

"HANDS UP!" Hermaan screamed.

"HERMAAN!" Virgil announced back.

Hermaan pulled the gun down and fired off a round towards Virgil's leg to incapacitate him. As the bullet sped towards it's intended target, a white blur flew through the air and intercepted the bullet, allowing Virgil to send a swift kick into the detective's stomach. As Hermaan tried to reclaim the gun, the white blur reappeared and smacked the weapon, sending it across to the white Rider's feet. Virgil quickly kicked it under a broken bookshelf and bent down to Hermaan.

"I told you not to do it."

* * *

Upstairs in the attic, small pieces of coral lay smashed out across the floor. Dormant and docile for the time being, it wasn't until a commotion downstairs began to wretch it's broken frame into one complete piece. As if the pieces were telekinetically linked, they began to fly towards each other, smaller pieces forming into bigger pieces, and the bigger pieces forming into shapes reminiscent of a human body. First the torso came to be, then both legs, then both arms, until finally the head reclaimed it's spot on top. With a brilliant huff, the creature expanded it's body mass and transformed itself into a hulking brilliant blue beast, crystalline structures jutting from all of it's joints.

As it regained it's composure, it looked down at the dusty floorboards and located the source of the commotion. As the Coral Dobatsu slowly began to regain it's memories it remembered one important detail: This was the home of the butterfly Rider, Farfalla. Thankfully, the Rider returned home, and it was time for another visit.

* * *

"Just go ahead and get it over with, Virgil. Use your weapon to kill me like you did Lilly!" Hermaan had been handcuffed and sat in a corner. His resolve was to continue to poke and prod at Virgil until he finally confessed to the crime, even if Hermaan himself was incapacitated at the moment.

"For fuck's sake, Hermaan! Do you not understand yet that I didn't do it? You think that in the time it took for my beetle to fly in here and save me, it could've drilled straight through your brain or something? Are you that dense?"

"I just-"

Before the detective could finish his sentence, the floor above them cracked open with immense force and rained down various bits of debris. In the midst of the destruction, a blue figure dropped through the crack and roared with such force that the windows and glass in the house blew out in unison. As it surveyed the room, it found Hermaan lying under a floorboard and quickly trudged in his direction.

"Virgil?" The detective asked aloud, as he lay frozen on the floor watching the creature advance towards him.

_**HENSHIN!**_

The white Rider barreled into the blue monster, forcing him through a weakened wall and out onto the yard. As the two struggled outside, Hermaan freed himself and leapt through the hole; stopping short as Virgil was tossed next to him.

"That Dobatsu, did he _get _Lily?"

The crystalline Dobatsu raised it's right arm and pointed it at Hermaan. Loud cracking noises erupted from the arm as shards of the creature began to fall off the limb, collecting in a haphazard pile on the ground. Standing in the arm's wake was a crude looking automatic weapon.

"Don't think that way! She's alive!" Virgil yelled! He jumped to his feet and leaped in front of Hermaan as soon as the Dobatsu began firing it's organic weapon. The crystalline bullets collided with the heavier parts of his armor and stuck inside deep. He shook off the damage and ran towards his enemy, only to be stopped in his tracks when the crystalline bullets exploded.

Sent spiraling to the ground, the white Rider got back up and charged the Dobatsu with full force. His shoulder connected with the monster's diamond like abdomen, but he couldn't move the behemoth above him. He pushed with all his strength, so much so that his feet began to permeate the hard earth beneath him. As he yet again heard the crackling of the monster changing it's physiology, Hermaan yelled out.

"Virgil, his hands!"

Virgil looked up quickly and saw a terrible mace forming at the bond between the monster's hands. Before he could react to dodge, the organic weapon connected with the armor upon his back and sent him crashing directly to the ground. He emitted a soft grunt and tried to get back up, but the Dobatsu placed a heavy foot upon his injured back.

"Aaaah!" Virgil screamed in agony, his body screaming back.

As the battle raged on outside, Hermaan ran back into the house desperate to find a way to help. While his mortal status did nothing but leave him in danger, he knew that perhaps his gun could cause some sort of dent to the creature, or at least chip it a bit. As he rifled through the wreckage of Lily's former residence, he heard Virgil's agonizing scream from outside, and found himself touching the cool metal of his personal side arm. Bringing the weapon eye level, Hermaan fired a shot into the creature's head and watched as it raised it's attention to the detective. Once the monster released Virgil from it's hold, it started on Hermaan.

"No you don't!" Virgil acting quickly, grabbed the demon's foot and yanked hard as it started it's advance towards the detective. The monster fell hard upon the ground as Virgil leapt up and quickly put in place the motions to unlock his sleeker armor.

"Cast off!"

_**CAST OFF!**_

The heavier pieces of his armor flew from his body in various directions. His majestic horn rose to it's spot upon his head, six smaller horns adorning his helmet. Once his red eyes flashed crimson, Virgil summoned his sword.

_**CHANGE LESPID BEETLE!**_

He wielded his blade with great dexterity, slashing and stabbing at the crystalline Dobatsu once it regained it's footing. As the blue demon endured each and every hit, it formed a broadsword into one of it's massive arms and slashed back at the white Rider; only missing Virgil's speedy frame by mere centimeters.

"Let's get this over with!" Virgil reached down and slapped the pad on his belt. "Clock up!"

_**CLOCK UP!**_

As time slowed down around him, Virgil rushed at the demon and thrust his sword to it's diamond like abdomen. With an impressive manipulation of it's physiology, the Dobatsu thrust a crystalline column from it's stomach and into Virgil's own, knocking him back onto the street. As the white Rider rose to his feet, the Dobatsu had formed a cannon into it's left arm and promptly fired at it's target. Quick reflexes cut the projectile in twain which exploded on either side of him at once.

"It's not often that I find a Dobatsu that can clock up, it's an honor."

The monster said nothing as it readied and fired another shot. Yet again, Virgil cut the projectile in half and escaped unscathed. While the dust settled from the duplicate attack, the monster had launched itself into the air. Anticipating such an offensive, the white Rider slapped the bottom of his sword to split the monster in half upon it's descent, but the Dobatsu thought otherwise. Mid air, the cannon arm materialized into a broadsword that shot forth towards Virgil as he stood. The white Rider dodged at the last second as the tip of the blade collided with the earth beneath him.

Virgil watched as the monster used it's appendage to quicken it's descent, allowing the creature to touch ground in a mere second where it quickly assigned it's other arm a mace to swat at the airborne Rider. The organic weapon collided with Virgil's less defensive armor and sent him rolling to the ground in an effort to control his fall; his sword did not follow suit. As the weapon lay prone on the asphalt just out of his reach, he started on a path to reclaim it, only to meet the blue Dobatsu again. The monster swung it's giant broadsword in a horizontal arc, missing Virgil as he hopped over the blade and tumbled to his weapon.

"Rider Slash!"

_**RIDER SLASH!**_

Virgil reached below the weapon and slapped the hilt hard and fast, allowing the energy to surge to his horn and collect power as it moved back to the blade. The blue Dobatsu turned and extended it's mighty blade towards the Rider. Virgil pushed off the balls of his feet and ran as fast as he could, connecting the deadly sword with the tip of the Dobatsu's weapon, following the crystalline blade, and eventually through the monster itself. But it didn't stop there. Virgil spun around as fast as he could, and upon the zenith of the spin he jumped high in the air, bringing the weapon over his head. Upon his descent, he slammed the blade down as hard as he could until the sword hit asphalt.

_**CLOCK OVER!**_

As time returned to it's rightful place, the Dobatsu's body erupted into a brilliant shower of sparks followed by the harsh explosion of it's parts. Blue crystalline shards rained down upon Virgil commemorating his victory against his formidable foe. He dug the blade into the ground and leaned against it, his body exhausted with the fight over. Now that time had returned to it's rightful place, Hermaan eventually found Virgil in the street and nodded approvingly at him.

"Thanks, Hermaan. Shooting the Dobatsu in the face was dangerous, but much appreciated it. Without your help I would've-"

"Don't worry about it. I hope that makes up for going crazy thinking you killed Lily." Hermaan turned his head in thought. With Virgil gone as the primary suspect, and the true perpetrator lying in various parts of the surrounding area, the detective still felt unresolve. Granted, the last part of the battle had gone unseen with only the remains of the monster to be actual evidence to the case, it was more than possible that Lily had become overwhelmed and... He shuddered and chose not to think about it.

"She's still alive, Hermaan. I know it." Virgil walked over and put a reassuring hand on the detective's shoulder, hoping that would at least calm his nerves for now. The good thing was that the Dobatsu was gone, but now the bigger questioned remained. Where was Lily?

"Thanks, I appreciate-"

The sound of cracking crystals permeated the air, interrupting whatever thoughts both men had running through their minds at the moment. The detective and Rider both looked on as they saw the remnants of the crystalline combatant shift and move.

"What the..." Virgil began as he watched all the tiny little crystals converge on a fixed spot in the street. As each one began to come together, the body of the creature he had just destroyed came slowly into view like a puzzle being put together over a lapse of time. Finally once the creature was rebuilt, it roared a deafening roar and slammed it's enraged fists upon the ground.

Once again the sounds of cracking crystals permeated the air, but this time, something more sinister came about. The ground began to rumble beneath their feet, while giant crystals erupted from the earth, jutting high into the air. Before the crystal pillars reached them, Virgil grabbed Hermaan and leapt away to safety. After placing the civilian down, he jumped back into the battlefield and charged at the monster, dodging the pillars erupting around him.

The closer he got, the more pillars were raised to stop his advance until finally he was upon the creature in the middle. He readied his sword for another duel of blades; however, the Dobatsu formed two crystalline automatic weapons and began opening fire upon the Rider. Tired from the exhausting battle beforehand, the bullets kept Virgil on his toes until it was finally too much for him. He took several blasts to his armor and was flown out of the Dobatsu made arena, his armor disengaging upon impact.

"Virgil!" Hermaan braved the crystalline pillars and rushed to his side, helping him get to a more stable position on the ground.

"Get out of here, you have to find Lily." Virgil pushed the detective's helping hand away and stood up haphazardly, only to fall back upon the ground again. His stamina prevented him from even running away.

"I'm not leaving you." Hermaan grabbed onto the white Rider and helped him to his feet. As they prepared to leave, a pillar raised was raised in opposition. They were trapped.

"Fuck." Virgil said as the blue Dobatsu barreled down upon them. It's charge was great, and would hit them in mere seconds.

Mid-step a loud BOOM ruptured the Dobatsu's footing and tore it into a tumble. Once the great beast fell, the makeshift arena created by the creature fell as well, revealing twelve people in combat armor as well as the two Humvees that carried them to the location. On top of the first Humvee housed a giant sniper rifle, smoke escaping the muzzle. The operator of the weapon pulled back on the bolt to release a comically large bullet casing, and quickly fired off another shot that drove the advancing Dobatsu back.

"Well, hello there, boys!" A female voice echoed, drowning out the dead silence the sniper rifle had created. From within the sniper rifled wielding Humvee, a woman with an all too familiar voice spoke to them over the speaker system retrofitted upon the vehicle.

"Lily." Both Hermaan and Virgil said at once. With renewed vigor, the detective carried the Rider over to the small army in combat gear, and let Virgil be taken away when some of them held out their arms for him.

Lily stepped out from the vehicle, brandishing her own set of combat gear, as well as a shorter, shaggy hairstyle. With great confidence she hit a small button on the sleek, black earpiece that she was wearing.

"Alright, team, this is the moment. Don't let me down." As several voices echoed the command, 'Roger' over the communication channel, several people emerged from hidden locations around Lily's and the other surrounding houses, as well as a few men and women from the line up near the Humvees. "Armor up."

In unison, each member of Lily's team placed a familiar looking brace upon their right wrists, quickly then extending their left hands out. Almost immediately, a small hole burst from the ground and several mechanical ants began to surge towards the people brandishing braces. As the ants crawled up their bodies, they calmly grabbed the mechanical insects and placed them into their braces.

"Henshin!" They all screamed together.

_**HENSHIN!**_

Instead of the hard, mechanical voice that eminated from Virgil's own belt, this voice sounded exactly like Lily's. Black, techno-organic material spread throughout the soldiers' body and enveloped them in the black body suits that stood as the building block for their next step of armor. The sleek, slim armor formed first and housed a basic method to it's madness. While being incredibly complex, the armor only housed design for abdomen muscles, pectoral muscles, breast plates for the women, and the shin, forearm, and shoulder plates. When no heavier armor took it's place, the helmet formed instead, giving the look a sleek, stylized ant head to the suits the soldiers wore, all dark blue in color. Once the armor had finished forming, the eyes glowed a golden yellow and the brace announced one final statement.

_**CHANGE ANT!**_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Holy crap! I had this short little note for you guys, until I saw that the last time I updated Lespid was six months ago... Fuuuuuuuu! Well, my bad! Haha. I'm sorry for taking so long, Lespid takes a lot of time to write and get out to you guys. For example...

This chapter took a lot longer than expected. Life got in the way as usual, but this chapter was also complicated. I toyed with the idea of introducing the next new Rider this chapter as well as the footsoldiers, who at the time were planned to be nothing but soldiers with combat gear. As you can see, that turned out quite differently. So without giving away too much future detail, I wrote and wrote and wrote this chapter over and over again until I was completely satisified with the end result. But this time I can assure you that time between chapters shouldn't be so long this time... I hope. Haha.

Thanks for reading this stuff even though it takes me a bajillion years to get a new chapter out. Just want to say that things are picking up for the story and that I hope you continue to enjoy Lespid from here on out!

**P.S. **If you enjoy the chapter, or any chapters, or Lespid in general, please leave me a review! I've got like five, and a few don't count because they're from Chuck Poon, my partner in crime. I'd like to get a general concensus if people actually like the story or not. Regardless, I'll still continue to tell the tale of Virgil Cross!


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